A Belgian doctor in the city of Antwerp refused to treat a Jewish woman with a fractured rib and suggested she ‘’visit Gaza’’ to get rid of the pain, the media reported.
According to Antwerp’s Jewish weekly Joods Actueel the woman, Bertha Klein, had her son call a local medical hotline. “I’m not coming,” the doctor reportedly told the son, who is American, and hung up.
When the son called again, the doctor said: “Send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she’ll get rid of the pain.”
Hershy Taffel, Bertha Klein’s grandson, filed a complaint with police for discrimination.
“It reminds me of what happened in Europe 70 years ago,” Taffel said. “I never thought those days would once again be repeated.”
According to Joods Actueel, the doctor confirmed the exchange, saying he had an “emotional reaction.” He knew the woman was Jewish because of Klein’s son’s American accent.
Flemish health ministry officials were looking into the incident. According to Joods Actueel, the doctor knew the patient was Jewish because of Klein’s son’s American accent.
The family called a friend, Samuel Markowitz, who is an alderman of the Antwerp district council and a volunteer paramedic. He called the doctor to confirm the exchange, and also recorded their conversation.
Hershy Taffel, Bertha Klein’s grandson, filed a complaint with police for discrimination.
“It reminds me of what happened in Europe 70 years ago,” Taffel told Joods Actueel. “I never thought those days would once again be repeated.”
Several anti-Semitic incidents occurred in Belgium in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Also in Antwerp, an Orthodox Jewish woman was refused service at a fashion retail store ansd nearthe the southern city of Liege, police removed a sign in French and Turkish from a cafe which said dogs were allowed but Zionists and Jews were not.