Dearborn Heights doctor arrested while Marco Rubio spoke to US Senate

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4 days ago

Dearborn Heights resident and doctor Dr. Nidal Jboor was arrested for protesting during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's opening statement during the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on May 21.
Jboor, who lives and practices medicine in Dearborn Heights, held a sign that read, 'Let the children eat. Let the children live.'
Jboor was removed from the hearing and arrested for "crowding, obstructing and incommoding," a misdemeanor under D.C. Code 22-1307, as it is illegal to demonstrate in congressional buildings, the U.S. Capitol Police public information office said in an email to the Detroit Free Press on May 27.
Jboor was released later that day and was one of seven arrested during the May 21 Senate hearing, police said. A Capitol Police public information officer said the department arrests hundreds of people every year for "illegally demonstrating." Over a year ago, the department created a team to rapidly respond to capitol happenings.
"We enforce the law and will not let anyone disrupt the important work of the Congress," a spokesperson for Capitol Police said. "There are plenty of places on Capitol Grounds where people can hold lawful demonstrations."
Any U.S. citizen can attend a congressional hearing with a gallery pass obtained through their senator or representative. Gallery passes are available for international visitors at the House and Senate appointment desks.
Jboor, cofounder of a group called Doctors Against Genocide, was one of about 40 from the group to attend the hearing, he said.
The group didn't come to Washington for the hearing, but happened to find out about it while there as part of their monthly conversations with legislators like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, about the U.S.'s involvement with Israel and Gaza, said Thomas Pedroni, a Wayne State University College of Education professor who organizes with Doctors Against Genocide and was in Washington at the time of Zboor's arrest.
Doctors Against Genocide was founded in 2023 and has more than 20,000 medical professionals in the group, Jboor said. It has run multiple campaigns in support of Gaza and Palestine. Its most recent focus is on "bread not bombs," Jboor said.
The recent Israel and Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage, according to the Israeli Government.
More than 54,000 Palestinians have died in the war since October 2023, according to Gaza's health ministry. Jboor said many Doctors Against Genocide medical professional members have worked on the ground in Gaza and that more want to go but aren't being let in.
'A ceasefire immediately can save more lives than what (doctors) can do in our clinics," Jaboor said. "We are not stepping out of our roles as doctors. … We think pressuring our politicians to stop this is the most urgent intervention to save as many lives as possible. No amount of doctors can keep up with the pace of the mass slaughter.'
On May 12, the World Health Organization reported that the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza faced prolonged food shortages. On May 20, United Nations humanitarian spokesperson Jens Jareke told the BBC that an estimated 14,000 babies were suffering from 'severe acute malnutrition in Gaza.'
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Israel blockaded food, water, shelter and medication from Gaza for nearly three months while thousands of aid trucks sat at the border waiting to enter, according to AP reporting. On May 22, the 11-week blockade ended. U.N. humanitarian officials have criticized the rollout of the aid as a crowd at the distribution place was fired on with warning shots, killing at least one and injuring 48 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
'The food is there,' Jboor said. 'We're not asking to pay for anything, all we're asking is to let the food in. … Millions starved while food is on the border is criminal and inhumane. No one should accept this.'
At least 20 living hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Pedroni is not a medical doctor, but he began working with Zboor after meeting him at a "Voices of Palestine" event he hosted at Wayne State University in 2024.
Pedroni said he joined Zboor's group as an outlet for his activism and thinks the group does a good job of conceptualizing what's happening in Gaza from a career professional standpoint.
"The method has been to connect to our colleagues in Gaza," Pedroni said. "We are just like them. They are our colleagues."
Professionals in all fields in Gaza are facing famine and bombing, making it hard to do their jobs, Pedroni said.
"The Boston Marathon bombing was a strain on the health services across Boston, and they had all these trauma hospitals ready to receive people. It was still a tragedy and horror. There are no hospitals in Gaza, no drugs you need to support surgery and the bombing happens day after day."
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Doctors Against Genocide hosts virtual meetings monthly and speaks with medical professionals on the ground in Gaza, Pedroni said. The group also hosts events, like vigils held on WSU's campus during the winter 2025 semester.
Along with the war has come rises in antisemitism and islamophobia. On May 21, the same day as the Senate protest, two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot at the Capital Jewish Museum.
After almost two recent years and decades of conflict between Israel and Palestine, Pedroni said it can be discouraging to keep speaking for peace, especially when people are being deported and higher education institutions are losing funding over the way they respond to protests.
"This is the most important issue of our time," Pedroni said. "It's not just about something the U.S. is doing with taxpayer money halfway around the world, but it's coming back to affect American free speech and higher education.'
Pedroni joined Doctors Against Genocide because the group gives him an outlet for his activism, he said. He said he supports student protests and that it's important for people to speak up, especially people like him with privilege as a white, male, U.S. citizen with job security, because advocating for peace is not antisemitic.
"Of course a professor fighting for saving children also values and respects Jewish students," Pedroni said.
Pedroni said he thinks pushback to Palestine activism nationwide before President Donald Trump's second term has helped Trump justify and enforce his orders against DEI.
"I feel a lot of the blame is with universities themselves. It's the wrong solution to say 'if we hide and shut up and don't do programing, (the issues will go away),'' Pedroni said. 'It's hoped we will be discouraged, but there's a lot of people that know what's right and we know the correct thing to do and people eventually become fearless."
Zboor said though medical professionals have been fired for pro-Palestine activism and some are self-censoring, it's still worth speaking up.
"We won't be silent," Zboor said. "All we are asking for is peace. Allowing more wars and committing the mass starvation of children are anti-peace."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Metro Detroit doctor arrested while protesting in US capitol