Royal Free surgeon reported over Holocaust-themed Netanyahu image

An NHS consultant has been reported to his employer and the medical regulator after sharing a cartoon depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing a Palestinian coffin into a Holocaust-style crematorium.

Dr Mazin Fageir, a senior trauma and orthopaedic surgeon associated with the Royal Free Hospital in London, shared the image on X in May 2021. It showed Netanyahu wearing a Star of David armband beside an oven and the words “Arbeit Macht Frei”, the slogan displayed at the entrance to Auschwitz.

The image was originally created by Portuguese cartoonist Vasco Gargalo and had previously been condemned by Jewish organisations for comparing Israeli policy with the Holocaust and using antisemitic visual imagery.

Dr Fageir’s social-media activity was examined by campaign group GnasherJew, which accused him of repeatedly publishing antisemitic material and reported its findings to the General Medical Council and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. The allegations extend beyond the cartoon, although they have not yet been tested through a completed regulatory or employment process.

The case comes amid wider concern about antisemitism within the health service and the effect that healthcare professionals’ public statements can have on patients and colleagues. The GMC received 779 complaints involving alleged antisemitism by UK doctors between October 2023 and December 2025, many relating to social-media posts.

Doctors are entitled to express political opinions, including strong criticism of the Israeli government and its conduct in Gaza. However, professional freedom of expression does not remove their responsibility to avoid discriminatory or seriously offensive communication capable of undermining public confidence.

The distinction is particularly important in healthcare. Jewish patients and staff must be able to trust that they will receive safe and impartial treatment, just as Muslim, Palestinian and other communities must be protected from hatred and discrimination.

Any investigation will need to establish the full context, confirm the ownership and authenticity of the posts and give Dr Fageir an opportunity to respond. It will then be for the trust and, where appropriate, the GMC to determine whether his conduct breached professional standards.

The controversy illustrates why NHS organisations cannot treat employees’ public social-media activity as entirely separate from their professional roles. When posts use imagery associated with racial or religious persecution, the effect on patient confidence can reach far beyond the original online audience.

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