A Jewish nurse at New York University’s Long Island hospital says she became the target of religious discrimination and lost income after posting pro-Israel messages on social media in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack.
In a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn, 27-year-old Leviah Ehrlich claims administrators summoned her to disciplinary meetings over her private posts, forced her to issue a dictated public apology, issued her a formal reprimand and retroactively cut her pay and performance bonus.
Ehrlich began working in 2022 as an emergency room nurse at NYU Langone Health’s Mineola facility, one of the largest hospital networks in New York City. Within a year she was promoted to senior nurse, served as a mentor to new nurses and was elected chair of her department’s nursing council, in what she described as a “meteoric” rise. In September 2023, she received a top performance review, earning a $6,610 bonus and a salary increase that brought her annual pay to $118,720.
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Leviah Ehrlich, a senior nurse, is suing New York University (NYU) Hospital on Long Island for harassment due to her support for Israel
(Photo: Social media)
Days after the Oct. 7 attack, she posted on her private Instagram account an image of a Star of David alongside Hamas’ logo with the caption: “Either you stand with Israel or with terror.” That same day she posted a photo of duel U.S.-Israeli citizen soldier Omer Neutra, a former high school classmate who was abducted in the assault and later killed. She said the posts were an expression of personal grief.
About a month later, she was called to a disciplinary meeting after what she was told was an “anonymous complaint.” A screenshot of her post was shown to her, and she was told it was “filled with prejudice and hate.” She said an administrator told her that using the word “terror” for Hamas could be considered offensive to Muslims and raised doubts about her ability to provide equal, compassionate care to all patients.
Ehrlich said she burst into tears and explained her intent was not to offend anyone but to show solidarity with her people after “the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” Although her account was private and made no mention of the hospital, she was warned the posts could lead to disciplinary action.
The lawsuit says the charge was inconsistent: Just days earlier, NYU Langone’s administration had emailed all employees referring to the attack as “barbaric, hateful terrorist acts.” When the hospital itself used the word “terror,” it was deemed legitimate, the suit says, but when she did so in a personal capacity, it became grounds for punishment.
In December, Ehrlich was called to another meeting and handed a formal letter of reprimand that described her posts as containing “threatening and hateful material.” She was ordered to publish a public apology on Instagram using wording dictated by administrators, including the sentences: “In support of innocent people on both sides, Israel and Palestine” and “I hope for a solution that will bring peace to all.”
Ehrlich said she felt under direct threat that, if she refused, she would lose her job, so she complied and published the statement. After signing the reprimand, she said she left the meeting shaken, suffered a panic attack in the hospital restroom and had to leave her shift early. On her way home, she scheduled an urgent appointment with a psychologist.
In January 2024, she was told that her previous top performance review had been “corrected” to a lower score and that she had to return the bonus and salary raise that had already been paid. Altogether, she was required to repay more than $11,000. The lawsuit says she continues to suffer financially and her salary is now about $7,000 lower than it would have been without the reductions.
“Instead of recognition for my hard work, I was punished solely because I am Jewish and support Israel,” she wrote in the lawsuit.
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Dr. Zaki Massoud called the October 7 attack ‘liberation’ and ‘decolonization’
(Photo: Social media)
Ehrlich says she now lives in fear and self-censorship. Her anxiety has worsened, she censors her private social media activity, regularly seeks therapy and struggles to sleep.
The lawsuit also points to what it calls selective enforcement against Jewish staff. It notes that Dr. Benjamin Neel, a senior Jewish researcher, was fired after posting pro-Israel content, losing research funding and facing an academic misconduct probe. By contrast, Dr. Zaki Massoud, a younger physician who called the October 7 attack “liberation” and “decolonization,” was reinstated after a public petition that drew nearly 100,000 signatures.
The comparison, the suit argues, shows NYU does not apply its rules in a “content-blind” manner but selectively against Jews who support Israel. “Jews who voiced support for Israel faced harsh sanctions, while those who described the massacre as legitimate were treated far more leniently,” it says.
The lawsuit accuses NYU Langone of not only violating her individual rights but also publicly humiliating her and coercing a forced apology. Ehrlich is seeking financial compensation for religious discrimination, a hostile work environment, emotional and economic damages, and punitive damages against administrators involved, including senior human resources and compliance officials.
She says her case reflects a broader surge in antisemitism since Oct. 7, including what she called “covert” expressions inside institutions that portray themselves as neutral. She cited warnings by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Anti-Defamation League about the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack.
NYU Langone said in response it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
