JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida said it is investigating the Israel-related social media posts of Dr. Mobeen Rathore, who is employed at UF Health as the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and serves the same role at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
UF said it is looking to see whether the posts on Israel, Palestinians, and Gaza “fall outside of free speech protections applicable to public employees or violate state or federal law or university policies or regulations.”
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Action News Jax told you last week about the fallout from Rathore’s posts, which range from videos on conditions in Gaza, to posts that call Israeli military actions “war crimes” and “ethnic cleansing.” Another video criticizes “Zionism.”
Rathore resigned from his position on the Board of Directors of OneJax, a multi-faith organization that promotes diversity in Jacksonville. The board includes faith and community leaders.
None of the posts Action News Jax reviewed made reference to the Jewish religion. However, the posts did lead to an article from the website “Jewish Insider” that called his posts antisemitic.
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Below is the full statement that was sent to Action News Jax by UF:
“While the University of Florida supports the right to free speech, it is investigating the social media posts made by Dr. Rathore so that consideration may be given to whether they fall outside of free speech protections applicable to public employees or violate state or federal law or university policies or regulations.
“The University of Florida reiterates that Dr. Rathore’s social media posts do not reflect the core values of the University of Florida. The University does not condone calls for the elimination of a nation or group of people. Neither does it condone generalizations about a nation or group of people based on the perceived actions of a few.
“Such actions are contrary to the University’s core values of ‘Freedom and Civility’ and ‘Community.’ These core values call on the UF community to engage in dialogue that is open-minded and rooted in mutual respect for others and to utilize our talents and compassion to create a supportive community that serves the common good.”
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