Doctors urge Brown not to rehire Hezbollah-supporting physician deported by DHS
More than 1,000 medical professionals signed a letter urging Brown University not to rehire Dr. Rasha Alawieh due to alleged connections to Hezbollah and concerns over campus safety.
The letter, organized by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, highlights Alawieh's praise of Hezbollah leadership and her deportation after attending the funeral of its former leader.
More than 1,000 medical professionals have co-signed a letter to the Brown University administration requesting that the Ivy League institution not rehire a former employee with ties to Hezbollah.
The letter, which warns against rehiring Rasha Alawieh, was organized by the National Jewish Advocacy Center. It was addressed to Louis Rice, the chair of the Department of Medicine.
The letter is dated May 25 and, as of publishing time, has been signed by over 1,000 doctors.
“Brown has always held itself to the highest moral standards and been a welcoming environment for all - regardless of race, religion, or national origin- and we write to you in that spirit to ensure that all members of the faculty and their patients feel safe,” the letter states. “Dr. Alawieh poses a real threat and should not be invited to return.”
The letter describes Alawieh’s connections to Hezbollah, including Hassan Nasrallah, who was formerly the group’s leader until his 2024 assassination. Alawieh has lauded Nasrallah as a “religious, spiritual person.”
The document also alleges that Alawieh’s uncle manages one of Hezbollah’s financial institutions.
“Given the factual revelations elucidated in this letter, we urge you to declare, publicly, that Dr. Alawieh will not be welcome to resume working at Brown University Health,” the letter concludes. “She is a threat to fellow faculty, as well as to patient-safety and care for which Brown University is on notice, making her also a liability threat to the University itself.”
Alawieh was deported in March after traveling to attend Nasrallah’s funeral in Lebanon, as reported by The Times of Israel. “A visa is a privilege not a right—glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted to X on March 17.
“CBP questioned Dr. Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sady wrote in a government court filing in March, according to Politico.
Campus Reform reported in April about the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $510 million in funding to Brown over concerns about anti-Semitism and the school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
The federal investigation followed Campus Reform Editor-in-Chief Zachary Marschall’s January 2024 Title VI complaint against Brown, which alleged that “pro-Israel students are targeted and threatened” at the university.
Campus Reform has contacted Brown University, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, and Rasha Alawieh for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.