Former University of Ottawa resident booted over Palestine posts reflects on Gaza struggle, one year later: 'It's the most professional thing to be calling out war crimes...'
After his suspension, Yipeng Ge travelled to Gaza to provide medical care and witness the Palestinian humanitarian crisis firsthand
A former resident physician at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of medicine says his life has changed in unimaginable ways after being suspended from his program over a series of pro-Palestinian posts shared on his social media.
Dr. Yipeng Ge, 29, says the university disciplined him in November 2023 following multiple complaints about posts in which he used terms such as "apartheid" and "settler colonialism."
"They quoted a concern over professionalism when I think it's the most professional thing to be calling out war crimes and attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers," said Yipeng Ge in an interview with Yahoo News Canada.
Suspension over pro-Palestine social media posts
At the time of his suspension, Ge says he was a fourth-year public health and preventive medicine resident, completing a residency at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
With most of his research focused on anti-racism and decolonization, Ge says it was important for him to be a voice for the Palestinian cause, while also recognizing that criticism of Israel in Western countries often comes with heavy consequences.
“I was careful about how I engaged on social media after October 7... I only liked and retweeted content I believed accurately portrayed the Palestinian issue,” said Ge.
Screencaptures from Ge's Instagram account in November 2023 show a post with an individual holding up a poster with the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," along with stories with text reading "If the phrase free Palestine makes you feel uncomfortable then you probably benefit from the oppression of Palestinians."
According to the American Jewish Committee, the phrase "From the river to the sea" is anti-Semitic and is a rallying cry for terrorist groups and their sympathizers, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to Hamas, which called for Israel’s destruction in its original governing charter in 1988.
Palestinian activists, however, say it’s a call for peace and equality after 75 years of Israeli statehood and decades-long, open-ended Israeli military rule over millions of Palestinians, according to an explainer published by the Associated Press.
When Ottawa community physician Yoni Freedhoff shared screenshots of Ge's posts on Substack," Ge says that's when the university stepped in.
In response to Ge's suspension, a petition was circulated calling for his reinstatement and an inquiry into the program. The petition urged the University of Ottawa to "reverse the suspension of Dr. Yipeng Ge and issue an apology for failing to follow due process in the investigation." It garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
I got a phone call at 8 o'clock in the morning from someone within the Faculty of Medicine to tell me I've been immediately suspended.Yipeng Ge, former resident physician at the University of Ottawa
Ge says an internal investigation by the school of medicine recommended his immediate reinstatement.
SEPH @ uOttawa is thrilled to welcome back our outstanding learner and colleague Dr. Yipeng Ge. / ÉÉSP @ uOttawa est ravi d'accueillir à nouveau notre collègue et apprenant exceptionnel, le Dr Yipeng Ge. pic.twitter.com/Lup6IPXwHJ
— School of Epidemiology and Public Health (@uOttawa_SEPH) January 15, 2024
"At the first sign of inconvenience, they kicked me out, and when none of the claims against me held up, they welcomed me back without an apology," Ge said. "I feel incredibly harmed by this process."
After his experience and witnessing the penalization of fellow residents who spoke out for Palestinian rights, Ge says he could no longer, in good conscience, remain at the institution.
'The people of Gaza need a tsunami of aid': Ge travels to war zone
In the wake of Hamas attacks across Israel on October 7, 2023, ongoing Israeli strikes have killed over 40,000 people and wounded nearly 100,000 more — nearly half being children — over the past year, according to Gaza's Hamas-led health authority.
As conditions continued to deteriorate amid ongoing strikes, Ge says his suspension from his medical program presented a window of opportunity to offer life-saving measures on the ground in Gaza in February.
He connected with an aid group called Humanity Auxilium and travelled with a team of Canadian doctors to Rafah, which had been ravaged by war and under threat of an Israeli ground offensive.
The way we entered the country was completely out of the history books.Dr. Yipeng Ge
Ge says a significant number of patients he treated at the primary care clinic he was based in came seeking treatment for burns from bombings — many of them children.
Starvation due to lack of aid flowing into the region was resulting in rampant malnutrition across Gaza, he explains.
"The most striking thing was the severe malnutrition and dehydration that the majority of children had," said Ge. "I took care of patients aged nine and 10 that previously were walking that no longer were able to."
Ge says his team brought "many suitcases" filled with medications, but it was "drop in the ocean" compared to what the need was.
"The people of Gaza need a tsunami of aid," said Ge.
Canadian officials issued fresh calls last week condemning Israel Defence Forces (IDF) attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gaza and calling for aid distribution to Palestinians.
"The increasingly dire humanitarian situation is unacceptable and continues to deteriorate due to a significant decrease of aid allowed into Gaza. An increase in humanitarian aid is desperately needed to end this suffering," reads a statement from Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
Ge also described the experience of providing medical aid to a region under constant Israeli siege, saying air strikes and seeing tanks on the ground was "normalized."
"The resilience, the courage, the perseverance that I've seen and even the joy that I've experienced with them is unparalleled," said Ge in an interview with CBC News.
Despite the challenging conditions he faced while in Gaza, Ge says he hopes to return for a second mission to the war-torn nation.
Nearly one year following his suspension from his residency at the University of Ottawa, Ge said his priorities remain the same.
"One thing is clear... I need to continue to centre people who experience social oppression — the people of Gaza, the people of Palestine," said Ge.