Back in November, a detailed report by The Intercept shed light on the experiences of medical professionals, particularly those who have treated patients in hospitals across Gaza and Lebanon over the past year, who courageously spoke out about the atrocities committed by Israeli occupation forces and the personal cost they paid for doing so.

The report reveals that expressing concerns about the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military aggression, at UCSF — one of the US' most prestigious medical institutions — came with serious consequences. These healthcare workers faced intense pressure and significant repercussions for expressing support for victims of the genocide, highlighting the personal and professional challenges involved in advocating for human rights amid Israeli aggression.

Rupa Marya, an internal medicine physician and professor at UCSF, is among the most prominent and vocal figures facing backlash, as per the report.

In a series of social media posts in January, Marya, who is also an expert in decolonial theory, raised questions regarding the impact of Zionism, describing it as "a supremacist, racist ideology" in the context of healthcare. Her comments quickly drew criticism from pro-"Israel" colleagues and Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener.

In response, the university issued a statement on its social media platforms addressing the posts, though it did not mention Marya by name, condemning her remarks as "antisemitic attacks". Wiener publicly expressed gratitude to UCSF for the statement. This triggered a wave of online harassment against Marya, including racist, sexist attacks, and threats of both death and sexual violence. Wiener has continued to target Marya on social media.

In September, Marya shared another social media post revealing concerns among UCSF students about a first-year student from "Israel", suspecting that the individual may have served in the Israeli military the previous year. She then raised the question, "How do we address this in our professional ranks?"

The following month, UCSF placed Marya on paid leave and suspended her medical practice while investigating her social media posts. Although the university later reinstated her ability to provide clinical care, she remains banned from campus, including the hospital where she worked.

"I wanted to protect people who have lost family members," Marya explained. "People are being murdered, doctors are being disappeared, hospitals are being bombed — you have this traumatized community in UCSF. I’ve been trying to give voice to the experience of the Muslim, Indigenous, Black, SWANA" — Southwest Asian and North African — "students who are afraid, like deeply afraid."