The Telegraph: London Hospital Bans Palestine Symbols After Complaints from Jewish Patients
March 19, 2025
Staff at several major National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in London have been prohibited from wearing pro-Palestinian symbols following complaints that they were “distressing and intimidating to vulnerable patients.”
Barts Health NHS Trust confirmed the policy after a pro-Israel lobby group reported increasing concerns from Jewish patients who felt uncomfortable seeing medical staff wearing badges and slogans in Palestinian colours. The ban applies across the trust’s five hospitals: St Bartholomew’s, Mile End, Newham, Royal London and Whipps Cross.
According to the Telegraph, the decision follows a case raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which highlighted the experience of a Jewish woman who underwent a caesarean birth at Whipps Cross Hospital in January. During her visit, she encountered three staff members wearing pro-Palestinian symbols, two displaying “Free Palestine” badges on their lanyards and another wearing a watermelon pin, a well-known symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
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