A self-described “Palestinian-American Muslim” nurse at New York University Langone Medical Center was fired after giving a speech condemning the “genocide in Gaza.”
Hessen Jabr, a nurse at NYU Langone Health, said she was fired on May 22, her first day back on shift, after giving a speech during Nurses Week on May 7 about her work with bereaved mothers who lose children during pregnancy or childbirth. Jabr posted a video of her speech to Instagram on Monday under the handle @iknowwhythejaybirdsings, The New York Times reported. The New York Times.
“As a Palestinian-American Muslim woman living in this country, I am proud to represent my mother and grandmother’s upbringing through our traditions, which mandate that we always have warmth and compassion for all human beings. It pains me to see the unimaginable loss suffered by the women of my country in the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” Jabr told the nurses on stage. “For these reasons, this award has a very personal meaning to me. While I cannot hold their hands and comfort them as they grieve for their unborn children and those they have lost to this genocide, I hope that I can make them feel proud as I continue to represent them here at NYU.”
When Jabr returned to her department on May 22, she said she was summoned to an impromptu meeting with the president and vice president of NYU Langone to discuss allegations that she had ‘put others at risk,’ ‘ruined the ceremony,’ and ‘offended people,’ because part of my speech was a tribute to the grieving mothers of my country.”
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New York University nurse Hessen Jabr was fired after referring to the “genocide” in Gaza in a speech. (Fox News)
“While the hospital was ‘figuring out’ what to do with me, I was called back to work. After working almost the entire shift, I was dragged back into the office, had my termination letter read to me by HR Director Austin Bender, and was escorted off the premises by plainclothes police,” Jabr wrote on Instagram. “I’m not going crazy, I’m not losing anything…. This is the contradiction of NYU Langone Medical Center.”
NYU Langone spokesman Steve Littea confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jabr was fired after the speech.
An NYU spokesman said this was not the first time Hessen Jabr had been consulted about discussing Gaza in the workplace. (GHI/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)
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“Following a previous incident, Hessen Jabr was warned in December not to bring her views on this divisive and critical issue into the workplace,” Litea said in a statement. “She chose to ignore that warning at a recent employee recognition event attended by many of her colleagues, some of whom were upset by her comments. As a result, Jabr is no longer an employee of NYU Langone.”
“As an institution dedicated to healing, NYU Langone Hospital remains committed to providing a safe, inclusive environment free of discrimination for all employees and patients,” Litea added. “We regularly remind all employees of our high standards, code of conduct and social media policy, and all adhere to them.”
Jabr, who has worked at NYU Langone Health since 2015, told The Times in an interview that what she said in her speech “meant a lot” because it was “an award for bereavement, it was for grieving mothers.”
Jabr made no mention of the past incident in his post on Monday.
Hessen Jabr has been with NYU Langone Health since 2015. (GHI/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)
But in recent months, Jabr has detailed on Facebook some of the heated political exchanges that have taken place in the hospital’s delivery rooms, according to The New York Times.
“The pure mind games NYU has waged against me as a nurse, a Muslim, a Palestinian and a woman has only strengthened my resolve,” Jabr wrote in one post.
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According to the Times, Jabr’s activism dates back decades. In 2001, when Jabr was 11 and growing up in Louisiana, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) “A Muslim girl was humiliated when she refused to accept the Bible handed out to her by her public school principal.
