Career rehab for Hamas fan doctor Mohamed Ghilan
A Melbourne doctor who praised terrorist group Hamas and its former leader, Yahya Sinwar, has quietly begun work at a new hospital despite resigning from another just months ago.
A Melbourne doctor who praised terrorist group Hamas and its former leader, Yahya Sinwar, has quietly begun work at a new hospital despite resigning from another just months ago after being exposed for his horrific social media posts.
Mohamed Ghilan resigned last year from Caulfield Hospital – in an area with a large Jewish community – when colleagues raised concerns about his “racist and inflammatory” social media content, in which he shared pro-Hamas propaganda.
The Australian can reveal Dr Ghilan began working in the rehabilitation ward, as a specialist in training, at a hospital in Melbourne’s northeast on February 3, despite apparently being reported to Victoria Police and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency in December after co-workers discovered his social media posts.
AHPRA is understood to be investigating Dr Ghilan.
A dossier sent to Health Minister Mark Butler two years ago blew the whistle on rising anti-Semitism in Australia’s healthcare sector, but it appears the red flags were never acted upon.
Jackie Rakov, the doctor who sent the dossier to Mr Butler, broke her silence on Wednesday, slamming the federal government’s lack of will to combat workplace racism after footage emerged of Sydney nurses Ahmad “Rashad” Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh shocked the nation last week, with the now-suspended pair bragging about “killing Israelis”.
In one post on Dr Ghilan’s Instagram page, which he briefly locked down this week, he shared a post just after the October 7, 2023 terror attack, saying “Live like Sinwar or die trying”.
He shared another post showing the slain Hamas leader, saying “Humiliation will never be for us”. Another post reads “I am Hamas, they are Hamas, we are all Hamas”.
Late last year colleagues raised the alarm with Alfred Health, operator of Caulfield Hospital. Dr Ghilan resigned while an investigation was under way, after he had been stood down.
Dr Ghilan, who lives at a waterfront property in Williamstown in Melbourne’s southwest and is originally from Saudi Arabia, has kept a low profile since and is now working for St George’s Health Service, which operates under the auspices of St Vincent’s Health, where he suddenly took two weeks’ leave on Friday.
When approached by The Australian on Thursday about his social media posts and his support for a listed terror organisation, Dr Ghilan remained silent except to say “have a good day bro”.
One senior doctor compared the health sector’s handling of Dr Ghilan to what was revealed in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
“We’ve seen similar situations highlighted in the RC into institutional abuse, where senior figures were aware of serious concerns but chose to relocate individuals, rather than escalate matters to the appropriate authorities, where the risk to others remained relevant,” the doctor said.
Alfred Health has been unwilling to provide evidence it reported Dr Ghilan to police, but insists he was reported to police and AHPRA on December 6. Victoria Police has not been able to confirm a report was made with the limited information provided by Alfred Health to this newspaper.
“Concerns about the doctor’s online activity were raised with us in November last year,” a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
She said Dr Ghilan was suspended and an investigation launched, but he resigned while it was under way. “The concerns raised with Alfred Health were reported to both AHPRA and Victoria Police at the time.”
The Alfred Hospital’s trauma centre is named after Holocaust survivors Les and Eva Erdi, whose namesake charity has twice made the single largest donation the hospital has received.
The Australian understands there was no record of any active AHPRA investigation against Dr Ghilan in September and January, raising questions as to when he had been reported to AHPRA by Alfred Health, and why it took so long for the regulator to commence its investigation.
AHPRA did not comment when contacted on Friday.
Senior doctors who work for Alfred Health, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised their employer’s handling of Dr Ghilan.
“It is bitterly disappointing that the health service that prides itself on treating the largest population of Jewish patients in Victoria has allowed a doctor threatening their very lives to be quietly shuffled out the back door,” one said.
Another senior doctor who also works for Alfred Health said they were “alarmed and very disappointed” Dr Ghilan had not been formally dismissed before he had the chance to walk.
“That they then allowed him to resign, rather than make a statement of how they won’t tolerate this behaviour, is a further illustration of Alfred Health’s lack of integrity in this area,” the doctor said.
In a statement, St Vincent’s said it condemned bigotry and hate-speech “in all forms”, and that Dr Ghilan was “on leave”.
“St Vincent’s has become aware of the individual’s social media posts – which predate his employ with us – in the past 24 hours,” a spokesperson said.
“St Vincent’s learned on Friday afternoon that the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has this week opened an investigation into the individual’s conduct outside of practice.
“The hospital is making inquiries with Victoria Police.”
After being approached by The Australian on Thursday, Dr Ghilan sent a 500-word “statement of clarification”, saying his remarks were made in the “context of opposing Israel’s illegal occupation, its oppressive policies against Palestinians and the killing of innocent Palestinians”, and that he “unequivocally opposes genocide in all forms”.
“My speech was intended to raise awareness about the immense ongoing Palestinian suffering and to highlight their capacity to endure in the midst of adversity,” he said.
“My position has always been one of advocating for peace, human rights and a just resolution to the conflict, one that respects the rights and dignity of Palestinians.”
However, Dr Ghilan refused to clarify why he was supporting a listed terror organisation and its former leader, nor did he answer questions as to whether still supported the actions of Sinwar or Hamas, and how he felt about treating Jewish people.
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