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Sheffield cancer patient Saul Freeman alleged that a surgeon told him during an April operation that Jews shoot children “in the head or the legs” for “their own amusement.”
The Times reported his account on Sept. 15 as part of its coverage of a Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) investigation into antisemitic abuse within Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
Freeman said the surgeon continued, “They are still killing children in Gaza… you would think they would know better given what happened to them in Europe… the Jews should know better.”
The accusation echoes the “blood libel” that falsely portrayed Jews as child murderers and fueled centuries of violence and pogroms. The Holocaust reference also weaponizes Jewish suffering to condemn Jews collectively for Israel’s actions — an explicit example of antisemitism under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition.
Freeman said that a Star of David necklace remained visible around his neck for the duration of the operation, and that he felt “threatened” but did not want to challenge the surgeon because “the guy has a knife” and “it’s about as vulnerable as you could be.”
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was investigating Freeman’s allegation that a surgeon made antisemitic remarks during his operation.
In a separate case, registered nurse Shelley Lipman said a healthcare assistant in Cambridge made a Nazi salute at her shortly after learning she was Jewish. “When I came back, walked round the curtain, the nurse was there literally holding a Nazi salute,” Lipman said. “I was just absolutely gobsmacked. Right next to a patient’s bed as well.”
Lipman said she immediately challenged the healthcare assistant: “That is a Nazi salute. That is Hitler.” The colleague allegedly replied, “Yeah.” According to Lipman, that same colleague still works with her.
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations at the CAA, said the findings expose “antisemitic rot at the heart of our NHS.” An NHS England spokesperson said the accounts show “unacceptable antisemitism and racism in the NHS, faced by both our staff and our patients,” and said all local NHS organisations must take “a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, discrimination, racism and acts of violence… including police involvement and criminal prosecution where appropriate.”
A CAA-commissioned survey last November, based on a self-selecting sample of 4,490 British Jews, found nearly two-thirds concerned about receiving equal NHS care. Four in ten respondents said they had taken steps to hide their Jewish identity while receiving treatment since the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.
An earlier independent review by Lord Mann, accepted by the Department of Health and Social Care in June, found a Jewish employee’s locker smeared with bacon fat and Jewish women opting against giving birth at NHS facilities for fear of discriminatory treatment.
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said following that review, “We must root this out.”
Malignant: Antisemitism in the NHS
Watch our full documentary on hate in healthcare now – and see just how widely this cancer has spread in the UK’s national health provider. pic.twitter.com/P3vFinVyoy
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) September 14, 2026
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
