Arab Doctor Recounts Racist Backlash After Viral Video

A video circulating on social media has sparked a wave of racist comments targeting an Israeli Arab doctor at Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Be'er Yaakov. The footage, posted on November 7, 2026, shows several individuals confronting a doctor of Arab descent, accusing him of mishitting a hospitalized patient named Sigalit. The accusers stated, "You are responsible for her and must treat her. If she dies, it will be on your responsibility." The discussion quickly shifted from the quality of care to the doctor's ethnicity, with one user asking, "Who let these terrorists into hospitals to treat Jews?" Another commented, "They will quietly destroy everyone with the support of the left." Dr. Salkha Abu-Sbia (Fraj), a colleague of the doctor filmed, told Ynet on Sunday, November 8, that she was deeply affected by the racist remarks. She expressed her distress, stating, "It's very hurtful, very angry." She found it unbearable to return to work, fearing how patients might perceive her. "Why does someone allow themselves to speak like that about a doctor? About a doctor who studied for seven years... and someone just comes and writes that he is a 'terrorist' because he is Arab?" she questioned. Dr. Abu-Sbia revealed that since the October 7th war, she has increasingly faced racism from patients and their families, including being called a "terrorist" and asked to be treated by another doctor. She recounted her experience on October 7th, stating, "On October 7th, I was the one receiving wounded soldiers and treating them." She published a post on November 8th describing her struggle to return to her shift, writing, "I am an Arab woman doctor, and I don't know how to return to the next shift." She emphasized that her Arab identity is not a cause for suspicion and that no criticism of medical care justifies labeling an entire community as terrorists. Professor Hagai Levin, Chairman of the Public Health Physicians Association, condemned the incitement and racism against Arab doctors. The Director General of Shamir Medical Center, Professor Osnat Levtzion-Korach, stated that the center "resolutely condemns racist remarks" and has a zero-tolerance policy for racism, threats, and harassment. Despite the ordeal, Dr. Abu-Sbia intended to return to her shift on Monday, November 9, stating, "I have to go, because if I let this humiliate me, I will lose self-respect and everything I have achieved." She added, "I just want to be seen as a human being, my friends, any person. It doesn't matter who he is, where he is from, and what he thinks."