Dr Benjamin Neel was, until his firing, NYU Langone’s director of its Perlmutter Cancer Center center. His dismissal, which came as a shock, happened after he voiced his political views.
Dr. Neel had reshared several posts about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. His participation in the discourse didn’t go down well with his employers, who didn’t hesitate to apply sanctions.
But the doctor won’t be going down without a fight. He believes that his dismissal didn’t follow due process. He has also dragged the University to court seeking damages.
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In the lawsuit he filed against the higher institution, Dr. Neel alleged that the University was punishing him for supporting one of the warring parties. He also accused the University of religious discrimination in his New York County Supreme Court complaint.
“Dr. Neel was offered up as a sacrificial lamb so that the NYULH could feign impartiality in its efforts to curb political and religious expression,” the lawsuit posited.
Dr. Neel’s attorney, Milton Williams, also commented on the layoff. “It is a travesty that after a stellar career fighting the battle against cancer, a long-tenured and world-renowned research scientist can be unceremoniously duped,” he fired.
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“We believe Dr. Neel is the first person to lose their job and have their reputation besmirched for reposting content on his private social media account,” he continued.
William minced no words as he accused the University of bias. He stated that Dr Neel’s post “challenged those individuals who are seemingly celebrating the death of innocent people in Israel.”
Dr. Neel also noted in his complaint that he made his X posts in his private capacity, and they did little or no damage to the University’s policy. “The re-posts, which Dr. Neel made as a private citizen, are in no way associated with NYU or PCC,” it read.
The complaint also argued that the posts were “objectively tepid and muted compared to the thousands if not hundreds of thousands of opinions currently circulating on social media sites.”
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The University has come out to deny any wrongdoing in the matter. According to a statement by its spokesperson, the institution was enforcing its rules and policies.
“Several times since last month, we reminded all employees of our high standards, as well as our Code of Conduct and Social Media Policy,” the spokesperson said. “Nonetheless, Dr Ben Neel, as a leader at our institution, disregarded these standards in a series of public social media posts and later locked his Twitter/X account,” the statement continued.
In a subsequent move, the University also terminated the appointment of another staff for posting his views on the war. Zaki Masoud, who they kicked off his residency program, had expressed support for Hamas using his Instagram account.
The University accused Masoud of supporting violence in his post. His post supported Hamas’s invasion and attack on Israel. “Let them call it terrorism…we call it liberation,” he wrote. The University might likely cite Masoud’s dismissal in its defense of Dr. Neel’s lawsuit.
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