The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service has suspended senior vascular surgeon Muhammad Khalil for a minimum of nine months after finding his 2023 Instagram posts "objectively antisemitic" and supportive of violence. UK Lawyers for Israel complained the posts damaged the profession and would alarm Jewish patients. Khalil said he had been emotional, apologised and promised not to repeat the posts, but the tribunal deemed his conduct unacceptable and disciplinary action necessary.
Senior Vascular Surgeon Suspended After Tribunal Rules Instagram Posts 'Objectively Antisemitic'
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A senior vascular surgeon, Muhammad Khalil, has been suspended from practice for a minimum of nine months after a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel found social media posts he made in 2023 to be "objectively antisemitic" and supportive of violence.
The panel reviewed Instagram material published after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. One post displayed the Star of David overlaid with the words "Death to Israel." UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLI) lodged a complaint, saying the posts damaged the reputation of the medical profession and would cause Jewish patients to feel unsafe in his care.
The tribunal concluded the posts did not fall within legitimate debate or criticism of Israel and amounted to endorsement of violence. The record shows some of Khalil's posts included calls for the "complete annihilation and eradication of Israel" and alleged an "Israeli and western fabrication of news that started on 7/10 is shameless and unprecedented."
The MPTS record notes that some of Khalil's close friends were reported killed after Israel launched a large military operation in Gaza. According to the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas and whose figures are regarded by the United Nations as a reliable source for those statistics, more than 73,000 people have been killed.
Khalil was employed as a senior clinical fellow in vascular surgery at Aintree University Hospital, part of the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust. When interviewed by trust managers in December 2023 he told them he would not repeat such posts and described his behaviour as an emotional mistake.
"I never done anything like this even when I was younger. I was an activist in Egypt. I have never done anything like this... I was emotional, and I made a mistake," the tribunal recorded him as saying.
Khalil told the panel that someone had taken screenshots of his posts and "sent it to an organisation called stop antisemitics". The General Medical Council (GMC), represented at the hearing by Colette Renton, argued the allegations were serious, not trivial or excusable, and said Khalil had not engaged constructively with regulatory proceedings. Renton also suggested that apologies he offered appeared aimed at securing future employment rather than reflecting full remediation.
After considering the evidence, the tribunal suspended Khalil from practice for at least nine months.
Key organisations: Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLI), General Medical Council (GMC), Royal Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust.
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