{"id":606899,"date":"2026-04-16T01:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/606899\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T01:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:02:10","slug":"winnipeg-paramedic-disciplined-for-antisemitic-posts-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/606899\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeg paramedic disciplined for antisemitic posts \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Winnipeg paramedic has been disciplined after pleading guilty to professional misconduct in connection to a number of social media posts members of the public brought forward as antisemitic in 2023.<\/p>\n

Saru Chahal, a paramedic since 2013, was working with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service when two complaints about posts were filed with the College of Paramedics of Manitoba, says the colleges online decision a February disciplinary hearing.<\/p>\n

The first complainant, submitted in November 2023, included screenshots of posts and stories from Chalhal\u2019s Instagram account following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and bombing of Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage, the decision explained.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"MIKAELA
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n

A Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service ambulance. <\/p>\n

Chahal will be formally reprimanded, have to pay a $1,000 fine, cover $5,000 in hearing costs and complete remedial education courses and a training module titled \u201cpause before you post.\u201d<\/p>\n

The posts included text that references Hamas as \u201cresistance fighters\u201d alongside text where the paramedic posted: \u201cI will never condemn Hamas. They are fighting for the Palestinians whether you want to believe that or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complaint also included a post in which Chahal detailed how he was having trouble at work in a caption of a photo depicting a damaged Palestinian medic vehicle.<\/p>\n

One of the captions read: \u201cGoing to work these last 3 weeks has been really hard. It\u2019s been difficult enough to concentrate on the most mundane tasks right now as it is.\u201d It continued: \u201cWhile driving I\u2019ve missed streets or hospitals I should be turning into. My partners try to talk to me but my mind is somewhere else and I don\u2019t hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chahal is also said to have shared an image \u201cdepicting military action where a Star of David is overlayed with a swastika.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second complaint filed later in November said Chahal \u201chad been posting antisemitic hate speech, misinformation, bias, anti-Israel propaganda and inciting hate against Jewish people and the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

A college panel determined much of Chahal\u2019s postings and repostings contained, \u201ccontent that was insensitive, derogatory, and hostile to those members of the public who identify as Jewish, Israeli, or those who appear sympathetic to those who are Jewish or Israeli.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

In a statement read out to the hearing in February, Chahal said they believe that health care is a \u201chuman right,\u201d and is an advocate for Palestine, but admitted the posts went too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, I recognize that as a paramedic regulated by this college, I have a responsibility to remain mindful of differing perspectives, including those that do not align with my own. I acknowledge that there were instances in which I did not meet that standard, and I take responsibility for those moments,\u201d Chalal told the panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned from this experience. Emotions were very high at that time. I have and will continue to be more mindful of how and what I present to the world as I understand my responsibilities to my profession, to myself, and my standard of practice as a paramedic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chahal had no prior formal disciplinary record.<\/p>\n

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Winnipeg paramedic has been disciplined after pleading guilty to professional misconduct in connection to a number of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":{"0":"post-606899","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-winnipeg","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-winnipeg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}