NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- NYC Health + Hospitals, which operates the public hospitals and clinics in New York City and is the largest municipal healthcare system in the U.S., has remained mum about one of its physician's assistants who posted a meme to Instagram that basks in antisemitic tropes.
The healthcare system, serves more than 1.4 million patients, failed to provide any details on Friday of an alleged internal investigation it told 1010 WINS on Monday it was conducting, nor has it specifically addressed the meme, other than providing a generic statement about values.
The meme, first posted on Monday on the X account @StopAntisemites, is animated and depicts an animal wearing a yalmulke with a Star of David on it, as well as an American flag armband. A human baby lies beneath the creature, with one of the child's bloody arms in the animal's mouth. To the side, is a child with a Palestinian flag plastered across their chest, looking terrified.
The X account identified the physician's assistant as Mariam Abdelghany. According to her bio on the NYC Health + Hospitals page she works in the Bronx at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. Her specialty is listed as emergency medicine.
When asked about the meme on Monday, specifically does NYC Health + Hospitals believe this representation of Jews will affect the service it provides Jewish New Yorkers, how it will affect Abdelghany's relationship with Jewish coworkers and if it represents its values, spokesman Christopher Miller said the following:
“NYC Health + Hospitals stands for compassionate, humane care with dignity and respect for all people. We don't allow any conduct at work that promotes hate, intolerance, or any other behaviors that undermine our mission, values, or commitment to care. We are aware of this social media post and are investigating.”
When pressed to acknowledge the actual post of a baby-eating Jew, there was no comment, as they "learn more about the situation."
Fast forward five days to Friday, when contacted by 1010 WINS to obtain an update on the alleged investigation, there was still no comment about if anything had been done. Instead, Miller recycled the same statement:
“NYC Health + Hospitals stands for compassionate, humane care with dignity and respect for all people. We don't allow any conduct at work that promotes hate, intolerance, or any other behaviors that undermine our mission, values, or commitment to care. We are aware of this social media post and are investigating.”
In a statement from Mayor Eric Adams, addressing this, a spokesperson told 1010 WINS, "As we see the fallout from this violence spill over into New York City, we must reiterate that hate has absolutely no place here."