▶ 0:05:58The Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions will come to order. I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call a recess at any time. Today's hearing will examine how healthcare unions are using their resources to advance anti-Israel political agenda while harassing and discriminating against Jewish doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.
▶ 0:06:20Instead of fulfilling their duty to fairly represent all employees, these unions have chosen to engage in divisive, discriminatory, and anti-Semitic conduct. The subcommittee held a hearing 9 months ago about the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents in our country and in our workplaces. Unfortunately, the problem has only worsened. Across the nation and around the world, Jewish people continue to face discrimination, intimidation, and violence, and that is just un-American.
▶ 0:06:50The unions we will discuss today have devoted time, money, and institutional influence to advance their divisive, harmful, and discriminatory discriminatory political agenda. In doing so, they are contributing to a workplace culture in our hospitals and medical institutions that is hostile and discrimin- discriminatory for Jewish employees.
▶ 0:07:10For example, the Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, represents thousands of medical residents, interns, and fellows across the country. After the October 7th massacre of Israeli citizens, CIR adopted a series of resolutions condemning Israel for genocide.
▶ 0:07:32One resolution endorsed the boy- boycott, div- divestment, and sanctions movement and called on CIR members to encourage teaching hospitals to cut all ties with Israel, including financial investments, pension funds, retirement accounts, academic partnerships, and intellectual property relationships.
▶ 0:07:52It is no surprise that many doctors and nurses are afraid to speak up about what their unions are doing in their Many fear retaliation, professional isolation, or becoming targets themselves if they exercise their rights under federal law. Workers have rights to speak out against union leadership and to decline to fund political activities with which they The Civil Rights Act protects workers from having to sacrifice their faith and their principles to get and keep a job.
▶ 0:08:22In public hospitals and clinics, medical professionals also have the right to decline union membership and cannot be required to pay union dues or fees. Yet under current law, CIR exclusively exclusively represents all employees in a bargaining unit, even those who voted against the union or strongly disagree with the union's statements and policy following October 7th.
▶ 0:08:45Today, we will hear directly from those on the front lines of our hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices about the they have experienced and witnessed in their workplaces. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle may be frustrated that we continue to discuss workplace anti-Semitism Semitism.
▶ 0:09:04I'm a I'm I'm frustrated, too, but until Jewish workers can expect dignity and safety in their workplaces and until unions return to their core mission of representing all workers, we cannot afford to stop talking about it. With that, I yield to the ranking member for his open opening statement.
▶ 0:09:22Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank all the witnesses for being here Uh I'd like to begin by saying that no one should be threatened, harassed, or assaulted because of who they are, who they worship, or what they stand for. We must do more to combat anti-Semitism in this country and ensure that all Americans are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
▶ 0:09:46When it comes to health care, patients and providers must be able to rely on a safe environment free from If that is what has motivated this hearing, I think we should be able to come together in a bipat- bipartisan manner and discuss solutions. But I fear that yet again, the majority is weaponizing the issue of anti-Semitism to attack groups they like labor unions.
▶ 0:10:14Today marks the 11th time in the last 3 years we have held committee activity to address anti-Semitism. Committee Democrats want to meaningfully address hate and discrimination. How after However, after nearly a dozen hearings, it is abundantly clear that committee Republicans have no interest in addressing the issue in good faith or discussing an effective response.
▶ 0:10:39Instead, the majority has weaponized this issue for their political objectives rather than tackle anti-Jewish animus in a series serious and enduring way. As I've said many times before and other people on our side have said, "We're willing to work with you on that issue." If my colleagues were serious, they would call out the leader of their own party, President Trump, who has made anti-Semitic statements himself and emboldened right-wing extremists to spew hate
▶ 0:11:10with not only impunity, but with celebration. At the same time, the majority will also hold hearings to address racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, or similar harms that Americans face. On both counts, committee Republicans have been silent.
▶ 0:11:30Even more critically, this committee has stood on the sidelines while this administration has dismantled the lead civil rights agencies responsible for investigating discrimination and protecting patients, health care workers, and medical students. The silence is deafening and telling. Hate cannot be tolerated anywhere, including in unions.
▶ 0:11:53However, it is irresponsible and unproductive to take the words and actions of a few and broadly categorize labor unions as fostering I want to remind my colleagues that the labor movement is a large, diverse coalition of workers, including Jewish Americans, many of whom have been prep- very prominent in the American labor It's been a significant force in the battle against anti-Semitism and other forms of hate throughout its history, not without its challenges
▶ 0:12:23like America as a whole. At the end of the day, the fight against discrimination in health care is not separate from the fight for affordable When entire communities face barriers to quality care, costs rise, preventable conditions go untreated, and working families bear the burden. Our health care system should work for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
▶ 0:12:50Our committee has a real opportunity to improve access to health care, make care more affordable, and address inefficiencies in the health care system that cost both patients both their economic security and their lives. However, the Trump administration has taken the problems that patients and health care workers face and made them demonstrably worse.
▶ 0:13:13Since President Trump returned to office, his administration and congressional Republicans have waged relentless attacks on the health and well-being of the American people, particularly the most vulnerable Republicans have failed to meaningfully lower drug cost. And thanks to their big ugly bill and failure to extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax cuts, millions of Americans have seen their health care premiums skyrocket.
▶ 0:13:39At the same time, President Trump's reckless economic policies and foreign have exacerbated a cost of living crisis in one in which 1/3 of Americans could not afford a $400 emergency expense.
▶ 0:13:56I think everyone here knows that a medical crisis costs a lot more than The Trump administration policies in this Congress Congress's inaction have also harmed our ability to address discrimination for both workers and Multiple agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, has slashed programs and research they deemed to be too woke and banned words such as black, disability, trauma,
▶ 0:14:26accessible, and mental health. How are we supposed to stop if we aren't allowed to describe it? These policies are not have not made Americans, including Jewish Americans, healthier or safer. Instead, Americans are forced to scrape the bottle the bottom of the barrel and skip doctor's appointments to avoid crushing medical the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States is medical debt. We should be addressing that.
▶ 0:14:57Democrats are committed to protecting people from hate and discrimination and providing safe, affordable health care so that all Americans can access access the care they need. I look forward to today's discussion and continue to look forward, Mr. Chairman, to work with you in a principled way on addressing discrimination in America. I yield back.
▶ 0:15:20The gentleman yields. Uh pursuant to committee rule 8C, all members who wish to insert written statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5:00 p.m. 14 days after this hearing. And without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous material noted during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record.
▶ 0:15:47I will now turn to the introduction of our four distinguished witnesses. Our first witness is Ms. Dina Margolis, litigation staff attorney at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law in New York, New York. Our second witness is Dr. Jacob Graman, a and a cardiology fellow in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our third witness is Ms. Jamie Beran, chief executive officer of Bend the Arc in New York, New York.
▶ 0:16:17Our last witness is Ms. Evelyn Sheckman, chief executive officer of the American Jewish Medical Association in Sacramento, Sacra- Sacramento, California. We thank the witnesses for being here today and we look forward to your Pursuant to committee rules, I would ask that you each limit your oral presentation to a 3-minute summary of your written statement. As committee committee members have many questions for you, the clock will count down from 3 minutes.
▶ 0:16:45Pursuant to committee rule 8D and committee practice, however, you will not uh cut we will not cut off your testimony until you reach the 5-minute I would also like to remind the witnesses to be aware of their responsibility to provide accurate information to the subcommittee. I will first recognize Ms. Mongolis Margolis for your testimony.
▶ 0:17:11Chairman Allen, ranking member Desaulnier, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Dina Margolis and I'm an attorney at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, where I represent Jewish and Israeli individuals facing anti-Semitic harassment and Before joining Brandeis, I worked at a healthcare organization monitoring quality of care under Medicare and Since the October 7th Hamas terror attacks,
▶ 0:17:42we have seen an unprecedented surge in requests for help from Jewish individuals facing anti-Semitism, including for refusing to disavow Zionism as part of their Jewish Hostility to Zionists often functions as a proxy for hostility to Jews, especially when it is used to exclude, demonize, or demand that Jews abandon a part of their identity as a price as a as a price of admission to a school, workplace, professional association,
▶ 0:18:13or Today, I will focus on healthcare labor unions that use the power and privileges of union representation not to protect workers' rights, but to promote anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist campaigns that demonize Israel and marginalize Jewish and Israeli healthcare workers. The issue is not whether healthcare workers may hold political views. Of course, they may.
▶ 0:18:37The problem arises when healthcare unions use their authority and resources to promote anti-Semitic campaigns outside their labor mission. Jewish and Israeli healthcare professionals are then placed in an impossible position. The union that is supposed to represent them is also helping to create the hostile work environment they must We are seeing this in healthcare unions across the country.
▶ 0:19:03For example, at the National Union of Healthcare Workers, Jewish and Israeli healthcare professionals report that union spaces became increasingly hostile after October 7th, and that they had been pressured to adopt anti-Zionist statements, have met hostility from union leadership, and their requests for meaningful anti-Semitism training was not addressed. The harm is not theoretical.
▶ 0:19:27A Jewish physician at a major academic medical center shared a wanted poster included in my written testimony that was posted throughout his campus identifying him and accusing him of complicity in ethnic The poster created a threatening workplace, affected his work in the hospital for months, and led patients and colleagues to interrogate him about Even though Israel had nothing to do with his work as a physician. Patients do not want politics in healthcare.
▶ 0:19:57When they are vulnerable in an exam room, hospital better operating room, they need to trust that every member of the care team is focused on their well-being, not on shunning excellent doctors because they are Jewish or Israeli. When that is happening, the harm is not just to the workplace environment, but it also affects patient care and safety. We are also seeing anti-Semitism enter healthcare through clinical language. In some mental health settings, so-called decolonizing therapy frameworks pathologize Zionism itself.
▶ 0:20:28Treating a core part of Jewish identity as morally or psychologically defective. Anti-Semitism can be dressed up as labor solidarity or clinical language, but the effect is the same. Jewish and Israeli healthcare professionals and patients are treated as morally suspect and unable to participate fully and equally in clinical settings. Congress can and should act.
▶ 0:20:50They should ensure that healthcare unions cannot use workplace power to promote anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist campaigns that marginalize Jewish and Israeli workers or threaten patient care. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:21:04Thank you, and now now recognize Dr. Agronin for your testimony.
▶ 0:21:11Chairman Allen, Ranking Member DeLauro and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify My name is Jacob Agronin. I'm a cardiology fellow at a major medical academic center, and I've been training for numerous years to take care of That is what I'm supposed to be doing with my time and energy.
▶ 0:21:29Instead, I'm here because my union formally discriminates against physicians based on national origin, openly supports terror sympathizers, and has made its obsession with a single geopolitical conflict a defining feature of its I will soon be compelled by federal law to fund it. I did not choose this union. The Committee of Interns and Residents, CIR, was voted in at my institution.
▶ 0:21:51No contract has been signed yet, but when it is, a portion of my salary, funded in part by Medicare's direct graduate medical education program, will flow to an organization whose conduct I will describe today. CIR represents 37,000 resident and fellow physicians across this country. In May of 2024, it passed a formal resolution titled House Staff Against Apartheid, declaring Israel guilty of apartheid and genocide as an official organizational doctrine.
▶ 0:22:18That resolution endorses the boycott, divest, and sanction movement, and explicitly calls on hospitals to divest, and I quote, all resources, including but not limited to direct financial contributions, human capital, pension funds, and retirement programs. Human capital means people. CIR has formally recommended that hospitals exclude my Israeli colleagues from employment, and then compels dues from those same colleagues to fund that position.
▶ 0:22:45If any employer in this country adopted that policy, we would call it what it is, discrimination. CIR has publicly supported Mahmoud Khalil, whom the Secretary of State determined posed serious adverse foreign policy consequences, and who is alleged to have have Hamas-associated materials. CIR has also publicly supported Dr. Rasha Allouba, a physician who expressed sympathy for Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization that has killed hundreds of Americans, and she even attended its leader's funeral.
▶ 0:23:15These are not the views of rogue members. In fact, they're documented public organizational choices. My union supports terror sympathizers. This is not a characterization, it is a description of their own conduct. Jewish and Israeli colleagues who face CIR's hostility will often not speak publicly.
▶ 0:23:33Not because they don't care, they certainly do, but because they are afraid it will affect their employment, their ability to finish training, and most importantly, is their ability to care for patients in an environment where they don't face harassment from their peers. A union is supposed to protect workers, and this one has made some of its members afraid to speak. While this is happening, the resolutions, the rallies, the statements, the political campaigns, my colleagues and I are just trying to take care of patients. That is why we're here.
▶ 0:24:02CIR's relentless focus on this one geopolitical conflict is a distraction from our mission. I am a Jewish American, and I want to be very clear. I'm here as an American physician telling this subcommittee that federal law will soon require me to fund an organization that supports terror sympathizers, and formally recommends the exclusion of my colleagues based on where they're from. When Americans come to the hospital, they are not thinking about geopolitics.
▶ 0:24:29They should not have to wonder whether their doctor's union supports terror but mine does. And Congress has the authority to do something about it. Thank you very much.
▶ 0:24:42Next, I'll recognize Ms. Baron for your
▶ 0:24:46Chairman Allen, ranking member Cicilline, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here today. The organization that I lead as CEO, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, is the nation's largest Jewish membership organization focused on domestic policy. We fight anti-Semitism, racism, and other forms of hate. And right now, many American Jews are understandably afraid. Devastating acts of anti-Semitism and increasing attacks on Jews, including as a proxy for Israel, are impacting our physical and emotional well-being.
▶ 0:25:17Anti-Semitism is never acceptable, and it is heartbreaking to encounter it in a healthcare setting. Imagine being the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor having her therapist dismiss her fear, claiming videos of Hamas's attack on October 7th were Increased anti-Semitism leaves many Jews feeling isolated and unsure who to I feel this fear myself some days when I drop my own children off for religious school at our conservative synagogue. But this is not the only reason that we feel alone.
▶ 0:25:46The Trump administration is using Jewish safety as a pretext for policies that endanger our neighbors and our And as a Jewish leader, that angers me to see our safety used to justify violating rights, detaining immigrants, or destroying parts of civil society. These disingenuous attacks advance ulterior political goals without making Jews any safer. They don't combat anti-Semitism, they weaponize it.
▶ 0:26:10To effectively fight anti-Semitism, we must not broadly characterize First Amendment protected speech or criticism of Israel as illegal. Criticism of the government of Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic, but both supporters and critics of Israel can fuel anti-Semitism by indiscriminately conflating Jews with the state of Israel or invoking anti-Jewish tropes. Unions and professional organizations are engaged in the same debates happening across America.
▶ 0:26:36These disagreements are not inherently illegal anti-Semitic discrimination or In fact, some of the loudest voices in these organizations on both sides of these debates are themselves Jewish. These organizations should apply their conduct rules uniformly and adhere to federal civil rights laws. But to smear the institutions themselves as anti-Semitic because of what some members say is politically motivated.
▶ 0:26:57It's gross governmental overreach to constitutionally protected speech among And the administration itself has built a dangerous permission structure for bigotry and anti-Semitism through their embrace of white nationalists and This normalizing of hate endangers not just Jews, but all Americans. Because anti-Semitism does not exist in a vacuum. When racism and xenophobia are allowed to flourish, anti-Semitism inevitably flourishes alongside it.
▶ 0:27:24That is one of the many reasons we can only fight anti-Semitism alongside other forms of hate. So, let's talk about the dangers of to Jewish safety and health care right now. The administration's cuts to Medicaid and the ACA have made access to health care harder for all Americans, including Jews. Unbelievably, they've also frozen funding for the HHS Office of Civil Rights, gutting the agency responsible for investigating medical bias. And there is another threat to Jewish safety in our health care system.
▶ 0:27:50The rabbis teach us to trust women to make decisions about pregnancy and ensure that everyone has access to safe reproductive health care, including Just this month, 30 Jewish organizations from every denomination in America joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court organized by the National Council of Jewish Women in support of medication Jews are not safer with access to scientifically sound Sorry, Jews are safer with access to scientifically sound, culturally appropriate health care that is not contingent upon other people's religious beliefs.
▶ 0:28:20Instead of adopting the punitive approach favored by the administration, Congress should take actions that actually fight anti-Semitism, which I have detailed in my written testimony, and so I'll be brief. Support the Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act and the Support the Anti- and Support the Anti-Semitism Response and Prevention Act.
▶ 0:28:38Use anti-Semitism definitions as educational tools and not divisive speech codes that can be used as pretext to curtail First Amendment protected Call it anti-Semitism whenever and wherever you hear it and refuse to normalize conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes from elected leaders. Bend the Arc has a dismantling antisemitism messaging guide that explains in detail how to talk about Jewish safety effectively. The future for this country that is safest for Jews is the future of this country that is safest for everyone, a thriving multiracial democracy.
▶ 0:29:07Where every person has access to dignified, appropriate, and affordable health care because there is no higher Jewish value than pikuach nefesh, saving a life. Where the medical professionals keeping us healthy are protected on the job and can bargain as a unit. Where antisemitism and all hatreds are dismantled and where Jewish people refuse to remain silent as our safety is used as a pretext to harm our allies and neighbors. Thank you.
▶ 0:29:31Thank you and lastly I recognize Ms. Sheckman for your testimony.
▶ 0:29:36Chairman Allen, ranking member Desaulnier, and members of the Thank you for inviting me here to testify on antisemitism in health care. My name is Evelyn Sheckman and I serve as CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association and I have more than 25 years of experience within the health care sector.
▶ 0:29:55I am the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and a first generation American born to a family of Jewish I am testifying today with a sense of urgency that I did not expect to feel in Antisemitism is not new but we have entered a new era in which Jew hatred hides behind the guise of anti-Zionism. The vast majority of American Jews identify as Zionists or support Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.
▶ 0:30:24That means that when Zionism is targeted, Jewish people are targeted. We are seeing calls to fire Jewish doctors, the praising of terrorist groups in and outside of clinical settings, the refusal to treat patients because of their faith, national origin, or Zionist identity, and the demand that Jewish colleagues renounce Israel as a condition of workplace acceptance. This is anti-Semitism.
▶ 0:30:48This is discrimination and it is a It has no place in medicine, yet we are seeing it within hospitals, medical schools, associations, and unions. Every healthcare professional has the right to a workplace where they can focus on the patient, thereby fulfilling their Hippocratic oath. But Jewish healthcare professionals are denied that right because geopolitics and activism have infected the healthcare space.
▶ 0:31:14When employers fail to protect their workers, employees rely on labor unions for help. Today, many unions have created an environment where Jewish professionals no longer feel welcome because union resources have focused on politics instead of patients. Worse yet, Jewish members are compelled to fund these activities through mandatory dues.
▶ 0:31:35The Committee of Interns and Residents, the nation's largest house staff union, has become inhospitable to Jewish members, actively institutionalizing In May 2024, CIR passed resolutions blacklisting political candidates who accept donations connected to the so-called Israel lobby. And another endorsing the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
▶ 0:31:58CIR has openly supported terrorist sympathizers and plastered hospitals with posters accusing Israel of the false charges of genocide and apartheid. Jewish CIR members who asked the union to focus on patient care instead of geopolitics are routinely silenced, ostracized, and isolated from union dialogue. Other unions are not immune.
▶ 0:32:20National Nurses United has even distributed a guide on how members can bring anti-Israel politics, sentiments, and polarizing activity within the clinical setting. Anti-Semitic conduct must be investigated and punished with the same urgency as any other form of Every Jewish healthcare professional, every patient, and every person who walks through a hospital door deserves nothing less. Thank you for this opportunity to testify for Jewish voices in healthcare.
▶ 0:32:49I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:32:53Thank you all for your opening statement. Um now we are ready for um under committee rule nine, we will now question witnesses under the 5-minute rule. I'll recognize myself for 5 minutes. Dr. Gronen, it takes real courage for you to be here Like you said, you'd really like to be taking care of your patients.
▶ 0:33:21But to speak about something uh these anti-Semitic actions of the CRE CRI CIR CIR union and some of its Can you discuss how the CIR leadership and some members have created what you call in your written testimony a climate of enforced silence for Jewish and pro-Israel medical trainees?
▶ 0:33:47Thank you, Chairman Allen, for your question. Um on a policy level, they very clearly created a culture of discrimination, of intimidation, of exclusion uh up amongst my Israeli colleagues, my Jewish colleagues, and a large number of others that support the state of Israel or just don't like this activity. Um many of my colleagues are really afraid to speak up about this. Um I've tried to have them sign petitions, and people are really afraid to have their name on anything that goes against this union.
▶ 0:34:17Um I think most importantly when it comes to this point is Americans really do not want their doctors supporting terror sympathizers, which is exactly what this union is doing. It's creating a culture of fear and intimidation in our hospitals.
▶ 0:34:33Thank you. Uh Ms. Margolis, uh your written testimony describes Jewish physicians being shunned and isolated in hospital settings because of perceived support for Israel. How does that kind of con- conduct affect the work floor the workplace and patient care?
▶ 0:34:50Uh thank you for the question and I I I think that first and foremost healthcare depends on trust, teamwork, and professional cooperation. So, if Jewish doctors, and and they are, and Israeli doctors are being isolated and marginalized and ostracized, it affects patient care.
▶ 0:35:08Um it doesn't make it a a safe place for patients, you know, they feel vulnerable when they come into a hospital setting and they're certainly going to be concerned about the quality of care that they're going to receive receive if a patient if a doctor right in front of them is being ostracized by their co-workers. Um at the same time, it's also um besides affecting patient care, we should be concerned that there are hostile work environments for for Jewish and for Israeli doctors based on protected characteristics.
▶ 0:35:36If this were for any other group, it would it would it would be addressed.
▶ 0:35:43Thank you. Uh Ms. Sheckman, your written testimony provides examples of disciplinary action taken against Jewish medical professionals because of their public condem- condemnation of Hamas or speaking out against anti-Semitism. What impact does retaliation or fear of retaliation have on Jewish medical
▶ 0:36:05So, the clinical environment is highly regulated, it's highly coordinated. Um if anyone who's seen what goes on in an in an in an operating room, everything there has to be in synchronized um and it's planned out. Um if there is something that comes in that is unplanned, that is a distraction, that is disruptive, you are uh uh disrupting the whole system and you are impacting patient care. There is a trust that's involved.
▶ 0:36:29There are relationships that involved and everyone there needs to be focused on the patient and nothing else but but the patient. You need to create an ideal setting um that is is um keeping the patient in mind. Not politics, not geopolitics, just the
▶ 0:36:47Good. Thank you. And again, I appreciate your courage for standing up for what you believe in. And you know, there there's going to be an attempt to change the subject here today and point at the administration. Uh but I can tell you this. Never in history has an administration united the entire Middle East against the most evil in in in in the world. And that is people and nation that says they want to destroy Israel and everyone that supports the people of Israel.
▶ 0:37:18That is what That is the conflict we're in today. It is a righteous conflict. And uh thank goodness for the courage of this administration in taking on this uh very difficult uh situation. And again, that's courage. And we're seeing courage today and we've seen it throughout biblical history. So you know, we're in this we're in this conflict together. So thank you very much and I yield my time and I now call on Mr.
▶ 0:37:47Courtney for his line of
▶ 0:37:50Uh thank you uh Mr. Chairman and thank you to all the witnesses for being here. I want to take a point of personal privilege just to particularly welcome uh Ms. Shackman who's here today. Her 25 years of um experience in healthcare I've personally benefited from as well as uh her husband Mark who's a incredibly talented surgeon who uh made sure that I can actually get around a golf course, Mr. Chairman, because of a a knee replacement surgery that he just did for me uh a few months ago. So um Uh in any I am.
▶ 0:38:20You can recline your time.
▶ 0:38:22Thank you. Um so um the seriousness of this issue today is undeniable in terms of what's happening in 2026 as was mentioned earlier Elie Wiesel once famously said that anti-Semitism affects more than its victims. It affects the society in which it lives and breathes.
▶ 0:38:41And unfortunately, we are seeing it you know, manifest itself in the most unexpected places in quiet suburban Connecticut a few weeks ago in Coventry Connecticut the town council meeting which is being presided over by the council chair which is like the mayor of the city there Lisa Thomas who is Jewish and a granddaughter Jewish refugees.
▶ 0:39:05The meeting was suddenly interrupted by individuals doing Nazi salutes and saying Sieg Heil which again was just you know, beyond shocking and offensive. As you know, this statement that Lisa put out afterwards is that this is not free speech. It's hateful. These gestures and symbols represent loyalty to a regime that committed genocide and their use today is intended to intimidate and Jewish people.
▶ 0:39:35Lisa is a retired teacher long time member of the NEA union. She was the head of the local in Hebron Connecticut which is nearby. And the good news I just want to share is that the Eastern the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut has a community conversation and gathering which is going to happen in a few days encountering the Holocaust and anti-Semitism and the ADL has also stepped forward in terms of trying to connect with Jewish public officials elected officials
▶ 0:40:06who again are experiencing unfortunately what what happened to Lisa a few weeks ago. Last night the New London police arrested an individual who threatened the Sikh mayor of Norwich to take out his him and his family. Um so as Weisel said, you know, this this virus, you know, really becomes systemic and widespread and and we've really got to be smart about making sure that we we take the the appropriate steps.
▶ 0:40:36So, Ms. Shackman, in your testimony, you really explicitly said that we need to ensure robust enforcement of the Civil Rights Act as one of the you know, suggestions to Congress and I really appreciate that because I I think frankly there's a broad consensus that if there's well, there was in law school, as you may recall, Ms.
▶ 0:40:56Margolis, there was a statement Ubi jus Ubi jus ibi remedium, which basically says without a remedy, there is no right. And right now, because of the fact that the Office of Civil Rights has been basically disappearing in in plain sight, there is no remedy for for people who have complaints in terms of anti-Semitism, whether it's in medical schools or medical institutions.
▶ 0:41:24Um and again, the the Civil Rights Office for the Department of Education, which has jurisdiction over medical schools, resolved only 1% of cases in 2025 because between DOJ and decisions made Secretary McMahon, that office was basically dismantled.
▶ 0:41:41She's scrambling now to rehire people to because they realized that they went too far and that there are the backlog of cases has piled up in in the wake of, you know, really a a very bad decision. So, Ms. Baron, I mean again, just for you to give you a second to talk about again the OCR and just how that's actually a very concrete way that Congress and Washington can help address this issue.
▶ 0:42:08Yeah, for sure. I I I that we can all agree that funding the offices of the rights is one of the key steps that we can take to combat anti-Semitism and you know, 72% of Jewish American voters don't approve of the job this administration is doing and physical assaults against Jews in the US were at the highest rates in nearly 50 years in 2025.
▶ 0:42:29So while I understand that um a lot of conversation about anti-Semitism has been happening, I think funding these offices that can take proactive steps and actually investigating complaints is one of the most important things that can help
▶ 0:42:40And and again, as we learned in first year law school, if you don't have a remedy, you just don't have a right. You can have all the fancy language in there and and deplore um injustice, but frankly, if you don't have a remedy, it it it's it's all for naught. With that, I yield back.
▶ 0:42:57Uh the gentleman yields and now I call on our chairman of the full committee, Mr. Walberg, for your line of questions.
▶ 0:43:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to the panel for being here. And uh Ms. Sheckman, uh if you and your husband were able to get uh Representative Courtney's golf game better, we need to talk after this. Well, maybe maybe it'd take a miracle anyway for me, Thanks for being here. Um Ms.
▶ 0:43:24Margolis, uh your testimony uh health care unions moving beyond mandatory bargaining uh subjects that normally would be things like wages and working conditions into anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist uh I think I know the answer, but I'd like you to discuss with us why is that especially concerning in a health care setting?
▶ 0:43:53Happy to address this. Um health care settings are incredibly delicate settings, okay? A hospital setting is supposed to be about patient care and I think everybody here agrees that patients in America should have quality of care. If you have a hostile work environment in a hospital setting, right?
▶ 0:44:14Where you need trust and cooperation between doctors and nurses and support staff, it's going to affect the quality of care that patients receive. The other thing is is that there is no place for politics inside of a hospital. That's why if you notice there are dress codes, right? You see people in different color gear so you can identify the doctor or the nurse or the technician.
▶ 0:44:41Because nobody should know what your views are, whether you're a doctor in an emergency room or if you're a psychiatrist or a therapist, right? You're supposed to be a blank slate and you're supposed to provide people care no matter what their protected characteristic is.
▶ 0:44:59Yeah, agnostic as far as the peripheral stuff. Just make me well. Put my shoulder back together and like, thank you. Dr. Agronin, a majority of your voted for CIR to represent them. Which was their right, of course. Probably wrong. The right to be wrong.
▶ 0:45:25But otherwise, now the hospital is in the middle of collective bargaining with Which means it has legal responsibility to bargain in good faith. What does bargaining in good faith keying on that, bargaining in good faith mean to you?
▶ 0:45:40Thank you for your question. Bargaining in good faith has to mean bargaining in the interest of all members you're In this case, they're clearly not. It's impossible for them to bargain in good faith when they and or by organizational doctrine want to exclude a portion of those that will that apply under their purview. Namely my Israeli colleagues. Um, this is not collective bargaining, this is actually selective bargaining.
▶ 0:46:08Where they're referring to they they want to help those that agree with them, and they want to fire those that don't.
▶ 0:46:15And that's not what you would hope out of bargaining, I take it.
▶ 0:46:17Certainly not.
▶ 0:46:19And what you would hope out of bargaining would be
▶ 0:46:22What I would hope for is the option for those that disagree with this union on fundamental level to not be compelled to pay dues to this union. Um, I think it's absurd that the union can call for blatant discrimination against Israeli colleagues, and then compel those same
▶ 0:46:39to pay.
▶ 0:46:40to pay them. To pay to take action on you, against you, and to weaponize the system.
▶ 0:46:47Thank you.
▶ 0:46:48Thank you.
▶ 0:46:48Uh, Ms. Heckman, your testimony uh sites materials produced by the National Nurses Union from August of 2022, which I I understand describe Israel as an apartheid system, an occupation of indigenous Palestinian and a European settler colonial project. Fairly explicit as in their description. Um, that was their position before October 7th.
▶ 0:47:15Uh, what reports have you received from your members about the activities of Nurses Union since October 7th?
▶ 0:47:22Um, so a Nurses Union, um, just to remind, um, to everyone here, uh, a union is meant to improve the conditions of the employees to create an ideal situation for patient care. Um, so in bringing in a political situation or a um, for something that is a uh halfway around the world is, um, irrelevant to the patient care setting.
▶ 0:47:44So within that context, um, since then, um, the Nurses Union has put forth a guide, um, to try and educate their members in order to how they they bring that into the clinical setting. And that's extremely dangerous. You want to keep that whole setting sterile and um uh making sure that you keep patient first. So, they are right now trying to educate and bring the tools into a space that has it has no space for. It has no place for it.
▶ 0:48:12Which should bring terror into the hearts and minds of some of the patients that could come under their care.
▶ 0:48:19So, thank you. My time is expired. I yield back.
▶ 0:48:22Gentlemen yields. Now, I call on the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Scott, for his 5 minutes of
▶ 0:48:28Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. question to Mrs. um Moran, the committee Republicans have turned a blind eye to when it inconveniences them politically. For example, the leader of their party, Donald Trump, and his allies have repeatedly said vile anti-Semitic statements, and Republicans have been silent. Trump is even said a Holocaust denier at Mar-a-Lago.
▶ 0:48:58Committee Republicans have now held three hearings on anti-Semitism and unions, yet reports of anti-Semitism of young among young Republicans, including news reports of students in the University of Florida's College Republicans chapter doing a Nazi salute, has evoked no response at all. Mr.
▶ 0:49:18Chairman, I'd ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a Washington Post article entitled "College Republican Group Disbanded After Students Allegedly Give Nazi Salute." A new New York Times article entitled "White House Shrugs Off Leaked Chants Chats From Young Republicans Praising Hitler." A Politico article entitled "Leaked Messages Expose Young Republicans Racist Chant." Thousands of private messages
▶ 0:49:49reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery, and rape. A New York Times article entitled The Far Right Is Dividing College A Politico article entitled Donald Trump dined with White House nationalist Holocaust denier Nick An article from the Jewish Democratic Council of America entitled Donald Trump's long record on anti-Semitism, which lists the countless examples
▶ 0:50:19of anti-Semitism espoused by the president in the White House. I'd ask unanimous consent that those articles be inserted in the record.
▶ 0:50:27Without objection.
▶ 0:50:29Mr. Chairman, earlier this month I sent a letter to Chairman Walberg asking him if and when he plans to conduct oversight on those kinds of examples, and we obviously haven't had such a um hearing. And so, Ms. Brown, what are the dangers of a double standard when it comes to calling out and tackling
▶ 0:50:50Thank you for the question, Mr. Scott. Yeah, American Jews really don't want to be at the center of these political debates. And when it feels like the administration is trying to have it both ways. As you said, it's deeply troubling to watch this administration give a permission structure to Christian nationalists, um and to surround themselves with people who regularly peddle anti-Semitism while saying from the other side of their mouth that they care deeply about fighting it.
▶ 0:51:15Um when that government turns and tries to tell us that they're cracking down on civil society organizations to protect us, how on earth are we as American Jews supposed to trust that? Um I don't trust that. I don't feel protected by those those uh choices by the administration.
▶ 0:51:32Um and I hear from Jewish people every day about how it scares us that uh the Office of Civil Rights and many of the other uh ways that anti-Semitism and other forms of hate are able to be reported on effectively um are are being dismantled and and
▶ 0:51:49Well, that, um, you mentioned the Office of Civil Rights in various organizations and I'd point out that this committee under Republican leadership does not have a subcommittee on civil rights. Used to under Democrats, it has a subcommittee on civil rights. Not this one. Uh, those organizations can investigate and address, um, antisemitism and did you What did you say about their funding?
▶ 0:52:17Yeah, that that they've defunded many of these institutions, um, and that has real-world consequences on on the ability to actually investigate claims of antisemitism, uh, which which deeply concerns me and I think being able to have a whole-of-government response by passing something like the Antisemitism Response and Prevention Act that funds these offices, um, that puts a national coordinator in place so we can actually have all of our government agencies working together to investigate these these various forms of
▶ 0:52:46And in the Department of Education, the Office of Civil Rights is being effectively dismantled. Uh, does the politicization of antisemitism make Jews safer and does you feel that some policies advanced by this administration have actually undermined the fight against
▶ 0:53:04Yeah, that's right. I mean, we're a small minority community that is already feeling vulnerable as demonstrated by the stories you've been hearing, uh, today and, you know, the last thing we want is to be used as a convenient excuse to dismantle the very democratic systems that keep our civil society healthy and safe, um, and, you know, we we don't want to be a political football that's being put in the middle of these debates.
▶ 0:53:26Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 0:53:31Gentleman yields and now I call on Mr. Owens for your 5 minutes of question.
▶ 0:53:36Thank you, uh, Mr. Chairman, uh, for convening this this hearing. I can't express how deeply disappointed it is to, uh, to sit here today uh, talking about anti-semitism in the health care system and somebody mentioned is a virus is is a cancer and it's something we've seen growing in this right 2026 is hard to believe we're having this conversation in this particular area particularly. This is an area where people should be more concerned about saving lives and helping the public instead of creating division and sowing fear.
▶ 0:54:03So I want to thank the witnesses who are bravely and boldly coming forward to shine a light on what's been going on. Ms. Magoulias you said in your written testimony that health care workers are within their rights to hold political views about the Middle East, Israel and other other Where is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel Israeli government policy and and anti-semitic anti-semitic and discriminatory conduct targeting Jewish, Israeli and Zionist health care workers?
▶ 0:54:34Thank you for that question and I I think this is a really important question and I gives me an opportunity to also talk about one of the ways in which we determine what is anti-semitic conduct is with a definition of and the gold standard for that is the IHRA definition including its contemporary examples which are really important for showing what the contemporary manifestations of anti-semitism are today and I want to be clear that it's not about regulating
▶ 0:55:04speech. It's about regulating conduct and the discriminatory intent to that conduct. The other thing that's incredibly important here about the IRA definition is that it says that legitimate criticism of Israel similar to criticism of any other country is fine. It's not anti-semitic.
▶ 0:55:23But when you demonize Israel or you hold it to a double standard or you hold it to a standard that you hold no other country to and you collectively blame Jewish people for the actions of Israel and you alienate them and marginalize, that is That is contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism, and those are the things that I see every day. I talk to students, medical students, doctors, professors, Jewish employees.
▶ 0:55:52And these are the kind of problems that we are seeing. These are the manifestations of contemporary anti-Semitism that we are seeing today.
▶ 0:55:59Thank you. And it's going to kind of lead into this next question. Now, Mr. Gurney, uh CIR's CIR's May 5th, 2024 resolution, House Staff Against Apartheid includes the commitment that CIR CIR will provide legal and logistical support to staff and members who speak in solidarity solidarity with Palestine and and other causes that they suffer harassment, uh disciplinary disciplinary actions, or other forms of retaliation. quick question.
▶ 0:56:28They mentioned logistical and legal. Does that mean that they will bus people in if they act out, disrespect for bully people, and get arrested, they'd also help with that process? Using the dues?
▶ 0:56:42Uh that's what it seems to mean.
▶ 0:56:43It certainly seems like it to me, too.
▶ 0:56:45And I while I don't know any specific examples of this taking place yet, um I would point out the egregious double standard um as Ms. Margolis was just pointing out um how they focus solely on this one issue. They offer They offer legal support for those that are speaking up against this one issue, when we know that they're actually promoting the exact opposite for those with opposing views.
▶ 0:57:09Uh with that, uh can you can you discuss whether CIR has offered similar support to union members who speak in solidarity with Israel or suffer harassment, disciplinary actions, or other forms of retaliation for opposing the union's pro-boycott divestment and sanction
▶ 0:57:25They absolutely have not, and they would not. Um in fact, quite the opposite. Um I'm in regular contact with dozens of former CIR members that have left the organization specifically because of their conduct regarding Israel. Um, it's just plain and simple Jew hatred and
▶ 0:57:44Mr. Chairman, you I think you've kind of discussed this, but just to address it one more time. What one purpose of you is to advocate for better and conditions for the members? Can you tell me if CIR's passage of resolution supporting boycott, divestment, and sanctions improve conditions for workers? And do you think these resolutions could lead to negative health outcome?
▶ 0:58:05Um, absolutely. They can lead to negative health outcomes. Um, resources are being taken away from the job of what a union is supposed to do. There are worthy There's a worthy role of unions. Um, that's to improve the conditions of residents. So, anyone who have seen a resident who's worked um, 80 hours a week or more, um, understands the the type of conditions that need to be addressed.
▶ 0:58:26Um, when resources are are not allocated towards what is needed um, by the member base, and they're actually they're instead being used for a geopolitical situation, um, such as a false statement of apartheid and genocide, um, then it is a misallocation of funds and resources. Therefore, the patient care team and um, all the members there are learning how not to take care of patients.
▶ 0:58:52I want to thank you first of all for for standing up for this, for your courage to come forward, and we need to make sure we're addressing it. So, thank you so much, and I'll yield back.
▶ 0:59:01Gentleman Yales, and now I'll call on our ranking member, Mr. Sounier, for your 5 minutes of questioning.
▶ 0:59:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank all the witnesses again. This has been a a good discussion, and I think if we could focus on the issues we've talked about here, we could really make a bipartisan difference. I'm um, by a couple of statistics.
▶ 0:59:23Uh, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes have become more common in recent A Crime and Justice Research and Alliance analysis showed that there's been a 12% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2024 and an 18% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in 40 major US cities and an FBI um report said that anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for roughly 69% of all religious-based hate crimes
▶ 0:59:53in 2024 despite Jewish Americans making up 2% of the US population. I think to me that's a good framing that we do have a challenge here. To the degree we can work on it together without distractions in every field is an is really important. Um I unfortunately just got a alert that our former colleague Barney Frank um just passed away in in the New York Times article he's quoted as saying prejudice is based on ignorance.
▶ 1:00:22Um so Barney, thank you for that reminder as a gay Jewish uh public official. Ms. Baron, could you um give me a response to what the International um sorry, I need my glasses. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance describe uh frames about defining anti-Semitism.
▶ 1:00:46Sure, thank you for that question, Mr. Cicilline, and may Mr. Frank's memory be a blessing. the Jewish community is deeply divided on definitions of anti-Semitism. There are three definitions that all have merits and have challenges, um but the key point is that they were never intended to be legislated and codified into federal law.
▶ 1:01:05They're really good educational tools, but um even the the author of the IHRA definition did not intend for it to actually be codified into federal law, and so um it it has the risk of protected free speech through
▶ 1:01:24Thanks. Want to ask that question in context of Congressman Frank because of his quote is that prejudice is based on ignorance. So, let's talk a little bit about um I'd like to ask you a question of the effect of the actions of HR1 on what is already a pretty discriminatory biased health care system for all of the greatness of the American health care system.
▶ 1:01:47I agree with everything everyone said about as a consumer of health care um in my life particularly recently. We want the best and the brightest working as a team when you go into that emergency room. So, let's talk about the effect of um what the big ugly bill did on what I would view as a very uh biased health care system right now. The impacts of that legislation on minorities in
▶ 1:02:16Yeah, I mean you know, we're talking about the largest Medicare cut in history and seeing roll rollbacks of ACA tax credits and um you know, it puts everyone in this country in a terrible squeeze including Jewish Americans who want to be able to afford their health care, want to be able to get the care that we all all Americans need.
▶ 1:02:35Um and so, you know, it's it's devastating that people have lost access to care um and even for you know, American Jews who can still afford to go to the doctor, it's still a crisis because um it's it's indication it's an indicator of a society that's actually not treating our most vulnerable um and and allowing them to get the health care that that they
▶ 1:02:57So, in terms of the most vulnerable, many people who are in minorities and disadvantaged and civil rights protected classes of people, they're going to end up in the emergency room because in a community like the one I represent in the Bay Area, we spend a lot of efforts in primary care. We make sure that people who have to get Medi-Cal in California have a primary care physician, but we're going to have to eliminate that, which means that people who don't have resources will end up where?
▶ 1:03:26Yeah, I mean people that don't have resources will end up not being able to get health care and not being able to afford it. And um it's it's really a it's a shonda, it's a shame. Um and you know, I think that um because of the ways that our communities overlap, right? American Jews sit at every identity intersection. So we we aren't just Jewish, right? We're many we're many things and we are vulnerable to the same things that all Americans are vulnerable to.
▶ 1:03:53And in that context again, the cuts that have come to um federal grants for people to go into the health field, could you respond to that?
▶ 1:04:02Yeah, I mean I I think that in in across all of these uh issues, the the cuts are impacting our health care system across the board and are making it harder for people to access care, harder for um people to stay in the health care field uh and it's it's going to have long-term ramifications for our country.
▶ 1:04:18Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:04:22Gentleman yields and now I'll call on Dr. Onder for his uh 5 minutes of
▶ 1:04:27Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As a physician and member of Congress, I believe that every American should feel in obtaining medical treatment without worrying about facing discrimination based on his or her ethnicity, religion, personal convictions, or other arbitrary factors.
▶ 1:04:45Unfortunately, many Jewish patients now confront the troubling reality that anti-Semitic attitudes exist within parts of the medical Major medical organizations have permitted anti-Semitism to infiltrate health care settings, undermining confidence in patient care, and weakening public trust. According to a recent peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, 40% of Jewish health care professionals reported experiencing anti-Semitism in their professional or academic environment.
▶ 1:05:16Um um in the in the years after Hamas's September 7th terrorist attack against Israel, which is truly alarming. No physician, therapist, medical student, or healthcare worker should face intimidation or harassment simply for being Jewish.
▶ 1:05:32One recent example, it which is deeply disturbing, was a protest outside Massachusetts General Eyewitnesses reported seeing posters developed by the Committee of Interns and Residents depicting bloody raised hands alongside anti-Israel messaging. And of course, this is a reference to the 2000 Ramallah lynching of two Israelis where one of the killers notoriously held up his blood-soaked hands to a cheering crowd.
▶ 1:06:00CIR is the largest house staff union in the United States representing um more than 40,000 resident physicians and fellows across 60 hospitals. Ms. Sheckman, you are CEO of the American Jewish Medical Association, which was created in response to rising anti-Semitism in healthcare settings after the October 7th Hamas attacks.
▶ 1:06:22From your experience, what do you think can be done um when major medical associations defend leaders who engage in anti-Semitic harassment or or excuse acts of terror?
▶ 1:06:35Thank you for that question. It's an important question. I think what we also have to understand is that this piece of it is called institutionalizing of anti-Semitism. So, when it enters into the institutions and it codifies it, then you're entering into dangerous hands. It becomes systemic and it's something that we have seen previously in history. Um there are a number of different actions that can can be taken. Members can speak up. There are committees for ethics. There are reviews.
▶ 1:07:03It can be elevated as well into uh, outside condemnation and then it can go all the way up into civil rights actions because these are, uh, Title VI and Title VII discriminatory
▶ 1:07:15And, no, thank you for that answer. And, could you share some examples of medical institutions that have taken action against anti-Semitism?
▶ 1:07:25Um, I love that question. I think it's worthy of, of also sharing systems that have done well. Um, we're working with a system, we're working with UC San Diego who had some, um, some issues of their own, and we've been developing a curriculum with them, um, that has been enlightening. I've gone to every single session, um, of them, and, um, as things have come up, they have been, uh, there have been discussions in order to address them.
▶ 1:07:48Um, I can also say locally, you know, from, from the state of, of Connecticut, uh, we've worked very well with our own, you know, health care system there in, and, and Hartford HealthCare. They have been able to walk a very nice, um, line and promote, uh, you know, say Israeli technology innovation and those that, um, that are really bringing forth partnerships in, and health care.
▶ 1:08:10Well, thank you for your answer. And I'd like to yield the balance of my time to the chairman of the whole full committee, Chairman Walberg.
▶ 1:08:18Well, I thank the gentleman, and, uh, I just wanted to respond in a way to my good friend and colleague, the ranking member of this uh, in his concern that we have not addressed or even spoken about what went on at the University of Florida with the Republican organization, uh, in this committee. Our, our normal process is to bring in institutions like Columbia, um, and, and others when they do harm and don't do the right thing. University of Florida did the right thing.
▶ 1:08:49Reprimanded, disciplined the Republican club. I made public statements in support of that and objection to the Republicans for making those uh, as, as students. That's the difference and we have record of that. I would like to submit Mr. Chairman to go alongside of the record that I don't think gave the accurate We will go after offenders. And Ms. Shipman, maybe we should do better.
▶ 1:09:19Maybe bringing University of Florida in to thank them for what they did immediately in taking action against the anti-Semitism. So, I would uh that these documents be submitted for the record as well.
▶ 1:09:33Without objection.
▶ 1:09:35Thank you. I yield back to Mr. Ronder.
▶ 1:09:39Uh the gentleman yields and now I I call on Miss Mr. Find for his 5 minutes of questioning.
▶ 1:09:48Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I apologize, I missed what sounds like a bunch of lies about the University of Florida. I come from Florida. Actually, in Florida, we were the first state to pass the IRA definition and we applied it to our medical schools and all of our education institutions in K through 12. And because we passed the IRA definition, when that so-called Republican club had that event, they were immediately thrown off of campus by the university. See, that's the difference between Republicans and Democrats. We do something about it.
▶ 1:10:17They like to talk about it. Um but I want to give an example of even where there is an issue. I want to give an example and I have a question for Ms. Beran about it. Um I want to talk about a dentist in the state of Florida. Um his name is Dr. Fadi Kablawi. Um he's not just a dentist in Florida, he's a mainstream Muslim Imam at a mosque in North Miami. And he said the following. Um "Oh Allah, this is in his sermon." When he's not practicing as a dentist, he's practicing as the Muslim religious leader, the Imam of his mosque.
▶ 1:10:46He said, "Oh Allah, annihilate the tyrannical Jews. Oh Allah, annihilate them." He also said, "Oh Allah, annihilate the brothers of apes and pigs." referring to Jews. Should a Muslim religious leader who's a dentist who refers to, I guess, his Jewish patients as the brothers of apes and pigs, should he be allowed to practice medicine in the United States?
▶ 1:11:11I mean, that's a a an abhorrent thing to say, and I don't think anybody uh that kind of discrimination is okay in any
▶ 1:11:19So, you would agree that he should lose his license.
▶ 1:11:21I'm not a professional on who gets medical licenses, but I can agree that
▶ 1:11:26if if it was up to you, and you could say should a Muslim religious leader who says his Jewish patients are the brothers of apes and pigs, is that someone that should be allowed to practice to stick tools into the mouths of his Jewish patients in North Miami, by the way, where there are lots of Jews, is that someone who you believe should be allowed to practice medicine in the state of Florida?
▶ 1:11:46I think that would probably not be somebody who
▶ 1:11:49So, so, look, it is an issue. This is a real issue, and it's an ironic one. I can't say I've ever experienced this personally. One of my mother's great disappointments is that I did not become a Jewish doctor. Um so, I I could not live up to her I I didn't have a thing. I couldn't I can't deal with blood. But, this is a real issue that is out there. And and my question is for Ms. Margolies, um what I find outrageous in today's testimony is this isn't just a campus problem.
▶ 1:12:15It's affecting hospitals, residency programs, and as my example just pointed out, patient care itself. We've got refusals to treat Jewish patients, health care workers calling Jews the brothers of apes and pigs, patients hearing pro-terror slogans, Intifada, Intifada, long live the Intifada, which is a call for violence um from hospital rooms. Jewish patients have learned they have to I hide their identity just to safely receive care.
▶ 1:12:41I actually talked to a kid just this morning who told me he's afraid to wear his kippah here on Capitol Hill. He works in one of our offices, and he's afraid to wear it because he's Jewish. That's part of why I wear mine to tell people that they should not be afraid. So, I have a question for you.
▶ 1:12:59If a nurse publicly said she would refuse to treat black patients or a patients were lying in hospital beds hearing staff chant slogans associated with violence against them, there'd be national outrage, justifiably, and people would lose their jobs immediately.
▶ 1:13:15So, when Jewish patients are being denied care, intimidated, being called the brothers of apes and pigs or made to fear the people treating them, why instead of zero tolerance are so many institutions still rationalizing this as free speech instead of what it is, outright bigotry that's putting patient lives at risk?
▶ 1:13:36Thank you, Congressman, for that question and I just want to say as another disappointment who should have been a doctor but also has problems with blood, I I feel your pain. Congressman, Jewish patients and health care workers should never be the exception to basic civil rights protections. And I do feel that we often are because there isn't a legitimate definition to explain what constitutes anti-Semitism.
▶ 1:14:01And that people don't because people don't understand it, they don't often identify it. So, I do think that's a problem because I agree with you that if similar conduct were directed at any other protected group, um if patients feared they would receive worse care, you know, for showing a part of their protected identity, if doctors were shunned because of their identity, institutions would immediately recognize it as discrimination.
▶ 1:14:25Well, thank you. And since I only have 20 seconds left, that's why I've filed a bill which I'm hoping this committee is going to hear soon which does two simple things. It uses the IRA definition, which is what we use to eliminate this problem in Florida, and it simply says that anti-Semitism has to be treated the same way as racism. That solved the problem in Florida. That's why anti-Semitism is largely a 49-state problem and not as much of a problem in Florida. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:14:52Thank you. And gentlemen yields, and now I call on our chairman emeritus, uh, Ms. Fox for her 5 minutes of questioning.
▶ 1:15:01Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thanks to our witnesses for being here. Dr. Gronnen, your testimony talks about the resolution your union adopted on May 5th, 2024, titled House Staff Against Apartheid, which called for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, and encouraged affiliated academic institutions to divest all resources from Israel, including financial contributions, human
▶ 1:15:31capital, pension funds, retirement programs, and intellectual property. What do you understand this call to divest all human capital to mean?
▶ 1:15:42Thank you for your question. Uh, human capital very clearly refers to Israeli colleagues, but I would also say extends to other American Zionists, which includes most Jews, a large number of Christians, and a number of other Americans that just don't support this.
▶ 1:15:58Thank you very much. What effect has the human capital provision in the resolution had on the Jewish and Israeli doctors you work with?
▶ 1:16:07Thank you. It's created a really problematic culture of, uh, intimidation and exclusion. Um, as I mentioned previously, my uh, colleagues are afraid to speak up against this union because of provisions like that. Um, and I do worry it extends, uh, to patients. It totally impacts patient care. You know, should patients' family members have to worry about speaking Hebrew, uh, when their family member is sick in the hospital over fear of how they may be treated differently by some of their doctors that support some of these
▶ 1:16:37Well, thank you very much. Ms. workers in unionized workplaces have rights to decline to financially support their unions political activities. Under the Civil Rights Act, they may also obtain a religious accommodation to funding the unions activities.
▶ 1:16:58What additional approaches might Congress consider to protect better Jewish and Israeli health care workers from being forced to fund or accept representation from unions that promote hostility toward their identity?
▶ 1:17:17So, conduct oversight into how health care unions use due funded resources, official platforms, member communications, and representative authority. And also, Congress should be examining whether unions promoting anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist hostility can fairly represent Jewish and Israeli members.
▶ 1:17:37Um also, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, the EEOC, and HHS OCR can also clarify anti-Semitic harassment in health care workplaces is unlawful and whether it comes from employees, co-workers, professional associations, or unions.
▶ 1:17:55Thank you very much. Uh I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:18:01All right, the gentle lady yields and um let's see, where is All right, uh now I'd like to recognize our ranking member for your closing remarks since it looks like we have no further questions.
▶ 1:18:22Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh first, I want to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record uh three items. The Senate HELP Democratic staff report entitled Justice Denied, uh Trump's Office of Civil Rights reached a 12-year low in protecting students from discrimination.
▶ 1:18:39Number two, a Politico Pro Morning Education article entitled "A Sinking Ship, Employees Flee ED's Civil Rights Office." And number three, a National Council of Jewish Women's amicus brief signed by 50 faith-based organization to protect uh Poor pronunciation. Access to the Supreme Court.
▶ 1:19:04Without objection.
▶ 1:19:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I I do really want to thank all of the witnesses. I think all of your testimony has helped me um and we really I'm want to just say again how much I feel like we should work together. Uh we can have legitimate differences. I can see some of the differences having many friends in uh the union movement and health care unions in particular in um California and across the country.
▶ 1:19:30So, let's have that conversation, but let's focus on what's undeniable that anti-Semitism is unacceptable in any form and we should work together to make sure that there are consequences for people who practice it. And to the question about education and Barney Frank, we must deal with the ignorance um anti-Semitism and its effects in the So, with that, Mr.
▶ 1:19:53Chairman, um again, combating anti-Semitism and every every form of discrimination is a moral imperative that demands action by all of us. As a member of the bipartisan task for combating anti-Semitism, I take this responsibility very seriously. It is not enough to ask promise to make promises or change slogans.
▶ 1:20:15We must fight every day to ensure that no one is threatened, harassed, or assaulted because of who they are in America, particularly in medical settings where people are giving and receiving life-saving care as all of our witnesses have have mentioned. Those involved must be provided with dignity and respect. Regrettably, discrimination and inequalities in health care are not new issues. Many individuals and groups have been treated as lesser than and given inadequate treatment.
▶ 1:20:44And although we have taken steps to change that, we still have a long way to go in this country. I however, I fear that only focusing on anti-Semitism in that in that way that weaponizes it against unions and health care entities, my colleagues are not only failing to address the concerns of million millions of Americans who also experience discrimination every day, but are also failing to exercise appropriate oversight regarding regarding this administration's policies that have sidelined
▶ 1:21:15civil rights agencies and have and have distracted from this their mission. These agencies should be fully resourced and staffed to focus on the enforcement of our federal civil rights laws. Instead, they are complicit in the degradation of these agencies, undermining their ability to combat anti-Semitism and enforce the laws we have in place to defeat to fight that We need to take anti-Semitism in all of its forms of discrimination
▶ 1:21:46seriously. But too often, my colleagues across the aisle use these hearings as an excuse to threaten any person, institution, or movement that that they happen to disagree with with or without offering any solution. Often, rather often than to get rid of the offending party entirely.
▶ 1:22:05It may be politi- politically expedient to do so, but that fails to serve the broader goal of protecting Jewish Americans and others from discrimination and conducting robust enforcement of our civil rights award. Democrats remain committed to working with you to do just that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 1:22:28I thank the ranking member and I'd like to thank our witnesses for sharing your experiences and perspectives on how unions are fanning the flames of anti-Semitism in our hospitals and health care institutions. Uh the reason we have these hearings is to work towards solutions. We want to hear what is uh you know what we're what we're what we're seeing on the ground.
▶ 1:22:51We are the people's house here and uh and we hear you and uh and in fact as representative Fine uh Lent mentioned he is going to uh put a uh put a bill together uh as they did in Florida to deal with this problem.
▶ 1:23:09And uh so you you got to cut to the chase here and uh that's why we do this and uh and again I want to thank you for your courage to be here to highlight the the issues that that that it's it's disturbing that we have to deal with in in our nation. you know today's hearing also highlights the importance of having labor laws that respect the choices of Jewish workers and who do not support their unions' political priorities.
▶ 1:23:39Uh no worker in America should have to pay dues to a union that celebrates violence against Jews, seeks the destruction of Israel, and advocate advocates for the fair firing of Jewish and Israeli workers. In the state of Georgia, we have a right-to-work law. It says to hold your job, you do not have to be a member of a union. And you have the free choice to do that. Unions should represent all members fairly, even those with different political or religious views.
▶ 1:24:09I look forward to working with committee members in the administration to protect the dignity of workers in America and shield Jewish workers from hate and harassment at work. Like I said, this is un-American. Again, I'd like to thank our witnesses for taking the time to testify before this subcommittee today. Without objection, there being no further business, the subcommittee stands adjourned.