Doctor says man targeted HSC Hanukkah ceremony with profane, racist rant
CBC
WARNING: This story contains profanity and details of racist language.
A group people who came together to celebrate Hanukkah at Winnipeg's largest hospital were stunned when a man approached them an launched into a racist tirade.
It happened on Monday at Health Sciences Centre, during the traditional menorah-lighting ceremony to mark the beginning of Hanukkah.
A doctor who took part in the ceremony spoke to CBC News on Wednesday. Because she fears for her safety, CBC has agreed not to name her.
The doctor said she was standing with a cluster of about seven to 10 others when the man appeared abruptly.
"Is this the meeting of the genocidal terrorist organization?" the doctor said the man asked.
They didn't recognize the man, initially thinking that he had just made a bad joke. But he repeated the question before going "off on a tear," and directing more hate toward the group.
"He liked the phrase 'genocidal terrorists.' So he used that a lot. He said 'f---ing Jews' a couple of times. He called us 'f---ing baby killers,'" the physician said Wednesday.
The doctor estimates the whole interaction lasted no more than a couple of minutes. She said the man turned away and walked out the hospital's main entrance, all while "screaming other obscenities and 'free Palestine'" as loudly as he could, and "making obscene gestures" in the direction of the group.
The doctor said members of the group were initially unsure of how to react.
"At first we were all just stunned. None of us really said anything. I thought we all just felt a feeling that this was just completely surreal," she said.
The doctor said she went to find security and tried to wave down police before breaking down.
She admitted to excusing herself "to have a cry in the bathroom," before coming back to put on a brave face for others who'd witnessed the incident.
Shared Health CEO Chris Christodoulou, HSC chief operating officer Monika Warren and the rest of the hospital's executive team said in a joint statement that the incident was "deeply disturbing," apologizing to everyone who was there.
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