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EXCLUSIVE: Jewish physician wins religious exemption from union membership and fees over Israel stances

A Jewish doctor has been granted an exemption from union membership and fees after he challenged a requirement to financially support a union that he said violated his religious beliefs.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•2 min read•Updated November 11, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC
Key points
  • Jacob Agronin, a physician at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, secured the accommodation after America First Legal (AFL) brought the matter to the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1957, demanding that the union exempt the doctor from membership and fees.
  • CIR’s collective bargaining agreement with Temple University Hospital required employees covered by the agreement to join the union or pay agency fees, according to AFL.
  • "No fees will be taken out of his paycheck, his employer will honor that and he does not have to be a member of the union at all," Redshaw told Fox News Digital.

AFL cited the union's stances on Israel, including endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and accusing the Jewish state of apartheid and genocide.

7 attacks on Israel, CIR released a statement saying it was "appalled and shocked by the recent violence in Israel and Palestine." The union said it mourned the lives lost in the Oct.

Additional details
  • She also explained that Agronin’s request cited " Jewish law and Jewish beliefs " to explain why supporting the union conflicted with his faith.
  • NATION’S LARGEST TEACHERS UNION UNDER FIRE AS CONTROVERSIAL AGENDA PUTS CENTURY-OLD FEDERAL CHARTER AT RISK "[Agronin] wasn't objecting to the union's right to political speech," Megan Redshaw, counsel for AFL, told Fox News Digital.
  • The physician noted that Hamas was not named in the statement, said the "Palestinian casualty figures are uncritically cited" and called the antisemitism condemnation "subordinated." CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE The physician also objected to the statement's presentation of Israeli and Palestinian….
  • Agronin acknowledged the parts of the statement that "mourned Israeli and Palestinian casualties, called for hostage release and condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia," while also objecting to other parts of the statement.
  • Additionally, according to the union, the "Housestaff Against Apartheid" resolution also "uplifted" the BDS movement.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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