Also a scandal in the US over Arabs: doctors against Minister Kennedy's words

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that "Arabs do not engage in scientific research, do not win Nobel Prizes, and do not create literary works." Doctors, vaccine researchers, and health organizations sharply criticized his words as racist and false, citing examples of Arab Nobel laureates. The minister's sister, Kerry Kennedy, expressed shame for her brother. The scandal erupted amid the election campaign in Michigan.

On the morning of October 29, a scandal erupted in the United States around Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who at a rally in Michigan stated that "Arabs do not engage in scientific research, do not win Nobel Prizes, the Fields Medal or the Wolf Prize, and do not create literary works." The remarks were made in support of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, whose opponent is an Egyptian-American physician, Abdul El-Sayed. Doctors, vaccine researchers, and health organizations sharply criticized Kennedy, calling his words racist and false. The minister's sister, Kerry Kennedy, wrote that she is ashamed of him. Critics cited examples of Arab scientists and writers who have received prestigious awards: Ahmed Zewail (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1999), Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1988), Omar Yaghi (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2025), and Michael Atiyah (Fields Medal, 1966). El-Sayed himself promised to initiate an investigation into Kennedy's activities if elected. The minister and his department declined to comment.