Islington GP Receives Four-Month Suspension Over Islamophobic WhatsApp Messages
A General Practitioner from Islington has been suspended from practice for four months after sending what a tribunal described as 'deplorable' and 'seriously offensive' Islamophobic messages on WhatsApp. The disciplinary action follows an investigation into remarks made by Dr Cinderella Nonoo-Cohen in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.
Medical Tribunal Finds Serious Professional Misconduct
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) delivered its verdict on Friday, February 20, 2026, concluding that Dr Cohen had engaged in serious professional misconduct. The case centered on messages she sent to a clinicians' WhatsApp group in October 2023, where she made inflammatory comments about a colleague referred to as 'Dr A'.
According to tribunal documents, the controversy began when Dr A shared a petition objecting to the Department of Health and Social Care displaying the Israeli flag. Dr Cohen criticized this action as 'bringing politics' into the professional forum. When Dr A denied making the conversation political, Dr Cohen responded with the statement: 'typical of you Muslims to gaslight.'
Tribunal's Findings on Islamophobic Content
The tribunal panel ruled that this specific phrase was 'objectively' Islamophobic and represented seriously offensive remarks. They found that Dr Cohen had attempted to portray her colleague as an anti-Semite who supported what she called Hamas's 'barbaric acts.' This characterization formed a central part of the misconduct findings.
However, the tribunal did not uphold all allegations against Dr Cohen. They dismissed claims that her remarks were driven by hostility toward Palestinians and their supporters. The panel also rejected the assertion that her attempt to paint Dr A as anti-Semitic was itself Islamophobic. Several additional allegations regarding Dr Cohen liking offensive social media content were thrown out, with the tribunal noting that liking posts does not constitute endorsement.
Doctor's Defense and Personal Trauma
During the proceedings, Dr Cohen explained that she sent the 'defensive' and 'emotionally-charged' WhatsApp messages early in the morning while in a state of 'shock and distress.' She testified that she was still reeling from the October 7 attacks, which had triggered intergenerational trauma related to her Mizrahi Jewish family's history and the Holocaust.
Dr Cohen claimed she felt provoked by her colleague sharing what she described as an 'inflammatory' and 'factually misleading' open letter that condemned Israel without mentioning Hamas's atrocities. Under cross-examination, she suggested that her use of the plural word 'Muslims' might have been a typographical error, though she could not explain why she used that specific wording.
Additional Social Media Controversy
The tribunal also examined a separate incident where Dr Cohen posted on X (formerly Twitter) stating that minorities had 'precedence over the whites.' While the panel ruled this post demonstrated racial hostility, they did not find it was motivated by racial or religious animus. This finding contributed to the overall assessment of her professional conduct.
Panel's Criticism and Suspension Decision
Despite acknowledging that Dr Cohen had apologized, undergone some training, and presented a low risk of repeating the incident, the tribunal panel expressed significant concerns. They criticized her for seeking to justify her actions based on personal trauma rather than demonstrating a full understanding of how her behavior impacted others.
The panel noted that Dr Cohen failed to show she had entirely grasped what she had done wrong, which influenced their decision to impose a suspension rather than a lesser sanction. The four-month suspension took effect 28 days after the February 20 decision, temporarily removing Dr Cohen from medical practice while she serves her penalty.
At the time of the incident, Dr Cohen was working as a locum doctor at Archway Medical Centre in Islington. The case highlights ongoing tensions in professional settings following international conflicts and underscores the standards expected of medical professionals in their communications.
