Glasgow University Rector denies antisemitism and Hamas support

The rector of the University of Glasgow has rejected allegations of antisemitism and support for Hamas, telling a medical tribunal he has been racially profiled and politically targeted.

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a Palestinian activist and plastic surgeon, appeared before a Fitness to Practice panel of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) on Tuesday 6th January.

The panel was told about two social media posts and a newspaper article and a newspaper article that Abu Sitta wrote for the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar in March 2018.

The Kuwaiti-born plastic surgeon denied all allegations of antisemitism.

In the article, he referred to the “martyrdom” of Ahmad Nasr Jarrar, describing him as a “hero” of the Nablus operation and writing: “The people have no weapon left but revolutionary violence”.

Jarrar was believed to be a member of Hamas and was suspected of orchestrating an attack in which a rabbi was killed in a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Addressing the panel, Dr Abu-Sitta claimed he had been portrayed as “inherently violent” because he is Palestinian and Arab, and accused a Jewish organisation of attempting to “destroy” his life. He also suggested the misconduct proceedings were politically motivated.

He told the tribunal that anyone familiar with the “nuance” of Arabic language and culture would understand he was neither being antisemitic nor advocating violence or terrorism.

via Unsplash

The hearing was told Dr Abu-Sitta had travelled to Manchester after flying in from Lebanon, where he had been treating “war wounded”. His lawyer, Zac Sammour, said this demonstrated his continued commitment to medical work in conflict zones.

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Representing the General Medical Council (GMC), Ros Emsley Smith told the panel that the comments would be understood by an ordinary reader as supportive of terrorism.

“The murder of a rabbi, the very embodiment of the Jewish religion, not a soldier, would be interpreted as support for that act,” she said.

Ms Emsley Smith argued that referring to Jarrar as a “martyr” and a “hero” amounted to a celebration of his actions and, given the context, “meets the definition of antisemitism”.

She added that Dr Abu-Sitta had “overstepped the boundary of legitimate political speech and into the realms of misconduct”.