NYC Health Department Staffers Launch ‘Global Oppression Working Group’ Accusing Israel of Genocide

Employees at New York City’s Department of Health have formed a “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group” centered around accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, The NY Post reported Wednesday.

The group, which somehow manages to link NYC health issues with a conflict 7,000 miles away, held its inaugural meeting Tuesday afternoon during regular work hours, with participants gathering both at the department’s Long Island City headquarters and via remote connection.

“We really developed in response to the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” a presenter stated at the meeting’s outset, according to video footage obtained by The Post. “And the working group aims to address the growing interests among the health department staff to learn about current and ongoing global oppression in its many forms and how it influences the advancement of health equity.”

Notably absent from the hour-long presentation was any reference to Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people and sparked the current conflict, according to meeting transcripts.

The meeting featured Dr. Weeam Hammoudeh, a Hunter College professor and Palestine Global Mental Health Network committee member, who characterized Israeli policy toward Palestinians as discriminatory.

“Palestinian citizens of Israel are citizens but they’re not considered nationals of the state so they’re more restricted in terms of the areas that they can live in,” Hammoudeh said during the presentation. She went on to discuss what she termed the “forced displacements and dispossession” of Palestinians living in “occupied territories.”

The meeting has drawn sharp condemnation from Jewish medical professionals and city employees who view it as inappropriate politicization of a municipal agency.

“This is a meeting using New York City Department of Health resources that promote libel against the Jewish people,”  Dr. Yael Halaas, president of the American Jewish Medical Association told the Post.

A Jewish DOH employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Post the one-sided political activism is “causing a rift among employees and sapping morale.”

“We just want to do our jobs to help New Yorkers and set the tone for public health,” the employee said. “The presentation talks about the suffering of Palestinians. Why? They never mention Hamas.”

The employee also alleged that colleagues advocating for the group dismiss antisemitism as a form of oppression because they do not consider white Jews to be victims.

Flyers advertising the event were posted near elevator banks in the DOH building, according to department staff.

The controversy comes amid reports of increasing antisemitism and anti-Israel bias affecting Jewish city workers across multiple agencies.

“Jews across city agencies have seen an uptick in antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in the workplace and have begun to collaborate and support one another,” said Moshe Spern, head of United Jewish Teachers, in a statement to Belaaz. “We cannot allow this bias in NYC to continue.”

Sarah McKenney, director of operations for the DOH’s rapid response team, organized the meeting and introduced the speakers.

The working group’s formation is particularly significant given Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s well-documented history of hostility toward Israel. Mamdani is a longtime supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting the Jewish state and has himself publicly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Critics argue that the mayor’s personal views have created an environment where city agencies feel emboldened to use municipal resources and work time for explicitly anti-Israel political advocacy.