Stand with us against the censorship of Palestinians and their supporters in healthcare! 

On June 7, the Asian, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ Collectives at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) were scheduled to host an educational event about Palestinian culture and history. Dr. Christine Harb, a queer Palestinian doctor, was scheduled to speak about how current events in Palestine impacts healthcare workers locally and globally. After being approved by Executive Leadership and the Health Equity Department, the event was abruptly "postponed". Both the Executive Chairs of the Asian Collective and one of the Executive Chairs of the Muslim Collective have resigned in protest of the hospital standing in the way of diversity, equity, and inclusion work. 

The Health Equity Department says the event has been “postponed” and are now trying to host their own sanitized version of the event—one which will “celebrate Palestinian culture” without talking about the Palestinian people’s ongoing struggle against oppression. Mentioning genocide, it seems, is too "divisive.” We say what is actually divisive is censoring healthcare workers who are speaking about the dehumanization and systematic mass murder of Palestinians.

We demand that: 

1. The hospital allow free and open discussion of issues related to Palestine. As hospital employees, we should be able to discuss topics and host events relevant to health and wellbeing for everyone—including Palestinians. Dialogue about these important issues brings hospitals closer to their mission of providing healing for all.
2. The hospital reinstate the original event and allow Dr. Harb to speak freely. The Health Equity Department has stated that they will not allow Dr. Harb to speak at HCMC without “clear guidelines” on what she is allowed to say and unless they review her materials in advance. These restrictions are unprecedented and are clearly aimed at censoring Dr. Harb on top of canceling her original talk.

Join us in telling HCMC to let us speak up for Palestine! Please sign and share widely. #HennepinHC 

By: Eiko Mizushima, MOTR/L; Jieyi Cai, Psychology Intern, PhD candidate (University of Minnesota); Max Fraden, MD; Katie Wilcox MD