\n<\/p>\n
The rector of the University of Glasgow has been cleared of misconduct by a medical watchdog over alleged antisemitism and support for Hamas.<\/p>\n
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic surgeon and prominent Palestinian activist, appeared via video link on Friday before a fitness-to-practise panel of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, where a case of misconduct against him was rejected.<\/p>\n
It had been brought by the General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates doctors, and was dismissed by the three-person panel after a three-day hearing.<\/p>\n
The case related to a newspaper article written by Abu-Sittah for a Lebanese newspaper and two posts on X.<\/p>\n
In the article, he had written about the \u201cmartyrdom\u201d of Ahmad Nasr Jarrar, who was believed to be a member of Hamas, saying: \u201cThe people have no weapon left but revolutionary violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ian Comfort, the chair of the panel, said the tribunal did not \u201ccherrypick\u201d quotes but considered the article in its entirety, which expressed views critical of political elites in Palestine. Comfort said they could not identify anything that was antisemitic or supportive of terrorism or violence.<\/p>\n
Abu-Sittah, who studied at the University of Glasgow and lives in London with his wife and three sons, had also reposted a tweet that said: \u201cWe congratulate our brothers in Hamas and our comrades in the Popular Front on the anniversary of their inception.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamas\u2019s political wing became proscribed under the Terrorism Act in 2021. The tribunal said it did not have evidence as to when the tweets were posted other than that it was some time before 2023.<\/p>\n
The tribunal further found that the \u201cordinary reader\u201d would see the tweet as a celebration of an anniversary and not to be \u201cmaterial or moral aid\u201d to terrorism.<\/p>\n
A second tweet by the medic spoke of \u201cmartyrs in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine\u201d, referring to a man who carried out the first operation using a suicide belt, in 1974, and a second man who died during fighting in 1973.<\/p>\n
Abu-Sittah said those with an understanding of the political context of the 1970s would see this post as only demonstrating \u201csolidarity\u201d with the Palestinian cause.<\/p>\n
Comfort said the tweet, read through the lens of an ordinary, reasonable Arabic reader, could not be seen as inciting or supporting violence or terrorism.<\/p>\n
The Kuwaiti-born medic said he had been racially profiled as \u201cinherently violent\u201d because he was a Palestinian and Arab, and accused the organisation UK Lawyers for Israel, which brought the matter to the attention of the GMC, of \u201ctrying to destroy my life\u201d.<\/p>\n
After the hearing, he said: \u201cMy immediate thoughts are with my patients in Beirut, whom I was forced to leave in order to attend these proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have spent my entire medical career treating the victims of war and political violence. I was therefore deeply shocked to be accused of advocating violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not, and have never, supported violence against civilians \u2026 This complaint forms part of a broader lawfare strategy which aims to instrumentalise the regulatory processes to intimidate, silence, and exhaust those who speak out against injustice in Palestine. This was the second complaint made against me to the GMC by UK Lawyers for Israel, and the 10th complaint made by them overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tribunal\u2019s decision now stands in full view of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for UK Lawyers for Israel said: \u201cIt is shocking that the tribunal has found it acceptable for doctors to commemorate acts of violence and pay tribute to terrorists. He has brought the profession into disrepute and Jewish patients are likely to be terrified of being treated by him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ros Emsley-Smith, representing the GMC, said Abu-Sittah had \u201coverstepped the boundary of legitimate political speech and into the realms of misconduct\u201d.<\/p>\n
The rector of Glasgow University is elected by students. Abu-Sittah is not a member of university staff and does not speak for the university.<\/p>\n
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