Cleveland Clinic Fires Doctor for Anti-Semitic Tweets

The Cleveland Clinic fired a resident after her anti-Semitic tweets were exposed by the Canary Mission watchdog group.

Canary Mission compiled tweets from the former resident, 27-year-old Lara Kollab, that read, “ill [sic] purposely give all the yahood [Jews] the wrong meds,” said that Haifa “full of Jewish dogs” and called the Holocaust “exaggerated.” Kollab has also tweeted praise Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist Ghassan Kanafani and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Khader Adnan and has defended Hamas.

The Cleveland Clinic posted a statement on their website on Sunday that they were “recently made aware of” Kollab’s comments.

“This individual was employed as a supervised resident at our hospital from July to September 2018,” the statement read. “She is no longer working at Cleveland Clinic. In no way do these beliefs reflect those of our organization. We fully embrace diversity, inclusion and a culture of safety and respect across our entire health system.”

Touro College, Kollab’s alma matter, also weighed in:

Touro College is appalled by the anti-Semitic comments reportedly made by Lara Kollab, a graduate of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. The mission of Touro College is to educate, perpetuate and enrich the historic Jewish tradition of tolerance and dignity.

— Touro University (@WeAreTouro) December 31, 2018

We are shocked that one of our graduates would voice statements that are antithetical to Touro and to the physicians’ Hippocratic Oath. We have received word from the Cleveland Clinic where Dr. Kollab was last affiliated and learned that she is no longer employed there.

— Touro University (@WeAreTouro) December 31, 2018

In a statement sent to the Journal via email, Canary Mission called on Kollab to “apologize and explain what led her to hold such bigoted opinions and tweet such frankly scary things.”

“Anti-Semitism is on the rise,” the watchdog wrote. “We see it on the far right, far left and among anti-Israel activists. Canary Mission will continue to focus on the dangers to the Jewish community.”

They added, “Anti-Israel activists are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. They claim that that there is a distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Like many, Dr. Kollab’s hateful language morphed as she progressed through college. We note that from 2013-2017 Dr. Kollab turned her focus to ‘Zionists,’ ‘Israel’ and to showing support for terrorism. With 44% of the world’s Jews living in Israel, the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is starting to wear thin.”

According to NBC News, Kollab received her medical training certificate in July; the state medical board said in a statement that the certificate is only active if Kollab is taking part in a medical program.

“Malicious acts and attitudes toward any population go against the Medical Practices Act and are denounced by the board,” the board said.

Simon Wiesenthal Center Founder and Dean Rabbi Marvin Hier and Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper called on the medical board to revoke the certificate altogether.

“While the Cleveland Clinic did the right thing, this person remains a menace to the community-at-large and has made a mockery of the Hippocratic Oath through her hatred,” Hier and Cooper said. “To protect the public, her Medical License should be revoked.”

Kollab’s social media accounts have all been deactivated.

This article has been updated.