Minnesota health workers rally in support of Palestine

According to some local health workers, health care facilities in Minnesota and across the country “have persistently forced workers to talk about Israel’s military attacks on Gaza since the beginning of the conflict a year ago.”

Alicia Garubanda, a speech pathologist at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in south Minneapolis, said some workplaces feel unsafe because of the ban on work events involving Palestinian doctors. Some employees were also fired for posting pro-Palestinian posts on personal social media accounts, she added.

“This is a deliberate scare tactic,” she said. “It makes us feel like we’re doing something wrong when we know we’re doing the best we can, not just for one particular group of patients, but for all of our patients and our entire community.”

Garubanda and dozens of other Twin Cities health workers will take to the steps of the state Capitol in St. Paul at 3 p.m. Friday to demand an end to such treatment and to call on Israel to end its assault on Gaza. state alienation from Israel and a national arms embargo.

The event was organized by the local chapter of the Palestinian Health Workers, a national network of health workers and medical students.

After Hamas launched an attack on Israel last October that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis, the Israeli military began bombing Gaza in a campaign that killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, including women and children. Several governments and the United Nations have called Israel’s campaign a genocide against the Palestinian people, although Israel and its allies, including the United States, deny the allegations.

According to the UN, Israel has attacked numerous hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital last spring and Al-Aqsa Hospital earlier this month, killing nearly 1,000 medical workers.

“Relating to the humanity of the Palestinian people, as I watched hospitals bombed, children maimed and more and more amputations … there was nothing said or spoken at the dinner table about what was happening in Palestine,” Garubanda said. . “I really wanted to find people who understood the connection between health care around the world and how we provide health care here.”

This week, health workers in Gaza called for global action, sparking events across the country, including Friday’s rally in St. Paul.

“Also, medical professionals and health care facilities have been harassed very intensely, so I think using any opportunity and any connection to speak out and draw attention to this and not allow this to continue is very important,” said Sam Sharp, a fellow mental health worker and organizer from the Twin Cities.

The organizers of the rally also refer to the attitude of health care institutions towards local workers. Earlier this summer, Palestinian physician Dr. Christine Harb was scheduled to speak at an event organized by Muslim, Asian and LGBTQ staff at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Although approval was initially obtained from both Hennepin Health’s executive leadership and the Department of Health, the conversation was delayed indefinitely, resulting in the layoff of several employees from the health system’s Asian and Muslim communities. I am for the workers.

In a statement, a spokesman for Hennepin Healthcare denied claims that the health care system has banned discussion about Palestine, calling it “simply untrue” and a “perpetual and false narrative.”

“At Hennepin Healthcare, we believe there is no single ‘right’ way to show support or solidarity. We are saddened by the idea that welcoming specific people or spreading specific messages is the only valid way to show solidarity,” the statement said. “Activism takes many forms, and we all have the opportunity to contribute in ways that align with our own values.”

The statement also cited an internal memo released last November that condemned terrorism. It also stated that Hennepin Healthcare stands in solidarity with health care workers in the Middle East and has provided resources to “empower our employees to engage in their own personal advocacy, recognizing that each of us can make a difference based on which is most in line with our personal beliefs. .”

Another case involved a webinar titled “BIPOC Mental Health Awareness: A Deeper Dive” hosted and recorded by Dr. Asfia Qaadir, clinical consultant for diversity, equity and inclusion for PrairieCare, a physician-led mental health services organization to the twin cities of Rochester and Mankato. Kaadir’s presentation discussed how clinicians can best treat Black, Native, and Palestinian patients in Minnesota due to health care disparities.

Kaadir could not be reached for comment.

Despite praise from many attendees, PrairieCare declined to release a recording of the event due to “significant scrutiny, heated feedback and divided opinions from many attendees,” according to an email Garubanda received from PrairieCare CEO Todd Archbold. Garubanda attended the webinar and requested PrairieCare registration.

“This inadvertently placed PrairieCare, a mental health provider, at the center of a complex debate that neither Dr. Kaadir nor the organization intended to address in the presentation,” Archbold said in an email.

PrairieCare spokeswoman Kristen Hayes echoed Archbold’s statement to the Sahan Journal, saying the overall theme of the presentation was well-received, but the “strong, polarized responses” prompted the organization to apologize to anyone who was offended or felt uncomfortable. The statement did not say whether the recording of the webinar was not released or why that decision was made.

Sharp, who uses the pronouns they/them, said that as health workers they cannot ignore the plight of their colleagues in Gaza. The goal of Friday’s event is to “let these hospitals know that the community knows this type of education is illegal and that as a community … we know this is happening and we need answers,” Sharpe said.

Other groups such as White Coats 4 Black Lives and Students for Justice in Palestine will also participate in the rally.