Revealed: How Pro-Israel Lawyers Threatened NHS Over Palestine Badges

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Zionist lobby group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) threatened a London NHS trust to demand that symbols of support for Palestine were banned, even though nurses wearing Palestine badges provided “excellent care”.

In correspondence seen by Novara Media, UKLFI said Barts Health NHS Trust was “criminally liable” for allowing nurses to wear badges with symbols of Palestinian solidarity on their lanyards. UKLFI accused Barts of breaching Section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 because allowing watermelon or ‘free Palestine’ badges harasses patients and “is also likely to harass Jewish or Israeli staff at the hospital”. No Jewish or Israeli staff were cited as making a complaint. 

One three-page letter sent from UKLFI director Caroline Turner to Barts Health and Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS trusts in March confirms that the lobby group had repeatedly contacted the trust “on similar subjects”.

It outlines a complaint from a Jewish maternity patient who felt “extremely vulnerable” and “panicked” because two members of staff were wearing ‘free Palestine’ badges and one a watermelon badge. The patient said it was a “reminder of the increasing threats against the safety of Jewish people” but then confirmed that her care had not been impacted at all. The letter states: “The patient stresses that she had excellent care from these individuals and they were very kind, but that does not detract from the fact that wearing the badges is inappropriate in a patient-facing workplace.”

“The nurses wearing badges were a poor role model for others,” the letter read.

UKLFI said the badges were “promoting the Palestinian cause, which is not related to health”. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has consistently targeted medical staff and hospitals – including with 2,000lb bombs – in a systematic pattern of attacks. As of May, at least 1,400 healthcare workers in Gaza have been killed and 94% of all hospitals have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks. 

Barts NHS Trust – which runs St Bartholomew’s, the Royal London, Mile End, Whipps Cross and Newham hospitals in London – introduced a ban on “political symbols” on 18 March as part of its updated uniform and dress code policy, also seen by Novara Media. The policy covers items on desks and devices, and applies to staff working from home and not seeing patients.

UK Lawyers for Israel shared the details of the updated policy as a victory on their own website on 10 March, eight full days before NHS staff were made aware of it by their employer. 

The policy states: “It is important that we do not wear badges, lanyards, or anything else that might align us with a particular nation, political party, one side in a conflict or causes that are not directly linked to and supported by the Trust or the NHS.”

This isn’t the first time UKLFI has targeted the NHS. In February 2023, the lawfare group successfully lobbied for artwork by Palestinian children to be taken down in Chelsea and Westminster hospital, on the grounds that plates decorated by children made Jewish patients feel “vulnerable, harassed and victimised”. 

In May, UKLFI’s chief executive suggested that Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza could reduce rates of obesity and improve life expectancy – after Israel had blocked aid for months and used starvation of Gaza’s population as a weapon of war. UKLFI has also filed complaints against Amnesty International, UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese and International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan KC. In June, UKLFI complained to the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine about a nutritionist’s recipe post that called for the boycott of Israeli dates. This week, UKLFI reported Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters to counterterror police for “expressing support for” newly-proscribed direct action group Palestine Action. 

As a result of the updated UKLFI-influenced policy, three NHS staffers are taking legal action against Barts NHS Trust, including British-Palestinian senior nurse at Whipps Cross hospital, Ahmad Baker. Baker alleges that he was threatened by a very senior member of the trust with disciplinary action for refusing to remove a virtual Microsoft Teams background of a still life painting featuring a watermelon, among other fruits. 

Baker told Novara Media: “This sets a precedent for external organisations dictating to the NHS, our public organisation, what to do, and for the NHS listening to these lobbyists rather than listening to the staff and the community itself.”

Baker, Whipps Cross respiratory consultant Dr Aarash Saleh and haematology registrar Dr Sarah Ali who previously worked at the Royal London, claim the updated policy amounts to indirect discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act and unlawfully discriminates against those with anti-Zionist views. Baker has raised separate claims of direct discrimination and harassment. 

Dr Aarash Saleh, who is Jewish, told Novara Media: “[The trust] essentially prioritised a pretty extremist pro-Israel lobby group above their own healthcare staff in drafting this policy and in informing people about the policy.”

Dr Saleh also said a clear double standard exists in the trust’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compared to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. He said: “It was clear that the attack on Ukraine was to be widely condemned and it was not only acceptable for staff to display symbols, but solidarity was actively encouraged. The trust put out a number of statements and even encouraged members of the trust to send aid and form links with Ukraine. 

“Then suddenly, when it’s Palestinians who have been killed in never-before-seen levels of suffering and violence, we suddenly have this urgent need for ‘neutrality’, for fear of upsetting people, for fear of being antisemitic if we voice opposition to genocide. The contrast between the two situations really raises the concern of institutional racism, and that’s why we’re challenging it.”

Dr Saleh continued: “People in positions of authority have tried very hard to form a narrative that opposition to current Israeli actions and solidarity with Palestinians is tantamount to antisemitism against Jews. The implication there is that Jews support what Israel is doing now, and not only do they support it, but they feel scared and harassed if people show opposition to it. For me, that’s completely outrageous and a very antisemitic narrative, because it’s trying to tell the world that Jews will support this genocide. And that’s absolutely not true.

“I felt very depressed and ashamed of our leadership. There’s nothing controversial about healthcare workers opposing a genocide. This is a whole move to silence any advocacy from healthcare workers in this country for their counterparts in Gaza. And I think that’s quite disgusting.”

On 24 June, the BMA’s annual conference passed motions affirming that criticism of the actions of the state of Israel is not per se antisemitic, and affirming the right of healthcare professionals and medical students to criticise states, governments, or institutions for actions that contravene international law. 

Ahmad Baker, Dr Aarash Saleh and Dr Sarah Ali are represented by law firm Leigh Day and currently raising funds for their legal case.

UK Lawyers for Israel said: “Please see the article on our website dated 10 March 2025. Take note of this quote from Dr Amanjit Jhund: ‘UKLFI has received assurance from Dr Amanjit Jhund, chief executive officer – Whipps Cross University Hospital, that following a consultation process with our clinical leadership and union representatives in line with our policy review and sign off processes and the revised policy will be going live this week and will say: Our staff are expected not to be wearing or displaying political symbols eg. badges, lanyards, or clothing with political slogans, ideology or national flag. The purpose of adopting a position of political neutrality is to foster an environment of inclusivity.’”