Senior Perth Doctor Suspended Over Alleged Covert Trolling Network
A senior Perth doctor has been suspended following explosive allegations that he operated a covert online trolling network targeting fellow medical professionals with antisemitic and racially abusive attacks. The Medical Board of Australia has referred Royal Perth Hospital nephrologist Dr Omar Azzam to a professional standards tribunal for alleged professional misconduct, with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) suspending his registration pending the hearing outcome.
Systematic Harassment of Medical Professionals
Dr Azzam stands accused of creating multiple social media accounts to unleash a stream of abusive content, including Hamas-linked symbols, "ZioNazi" slurs used to disparage supporters of Israel, and posts that appear to mock Christians. The allegations suggest a coordinated campaign of online harassment that specifically targeted medical professionals over an extended period.
Former midwife Sharon Stoliar welcomed the suspension news after enduring more than a year of alleged online harassment. Dr Azzam is accused of repeatedly targeting her on Instagram and Facebook between late 2023 and early 2025, allegedly stalking and trolling her accounts by posting obsessively on almost every update and attempting to intimidate people who interacted with her content.
Racist Insults and Escalating Behavior
Some comments were directed personally at Ms Stoliar, including: '@sharonstoliar I can offer you a couple of neurons. Get you up to a grand total of 5! … sweet pea.' and '@sharonstoliar are you going to take me up on that offer of 2 central neurons sweet pea?'
Ms Stoliar, of South Asian descent, said the repeated "neuron" insults were clearly racist and implied people of colour are unintelligent. Although not Jewish herself, she is married to an Israeli man and is publicly supportive of Israel, which may have contributed to her becoming a target.
After public exposure of Dr Azzam's identity under the anonymous account @notmydoctor48, he allegedly changed his Instagram username to @thoroughlyentertained and altered his profile picture to an image of himself with a small baby, both wearing traditional Middle Eastern headdress known as a keffiyeh.
Institutional Awareness and Response
When the Maternity Consumer Network issued a statement supporting Ms Stoliar and condemning racism and antisemitism, Dr Azzam allegedly began posting extensively on their page. After she lodged her initial complaint to AHPRA and Royal Perth Hospital in March 2025, his behavior reportedly escalated under what she believed were new aliases, where he mocked supporters and dismissed concerns about antisemitism as mere "weaponization."
Ms Stoliar said that after going public with her complaint, other individuals contacted her to report similar experiences of trolling and harassment involving the same doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Patients deserve doctors who treat them with respect, not prejudice," she told the Daily Mail. "No one should have to endure racial harassment from a registered medical practitioner. His actions are not only blatant violations of professional conduct but also disgustingly racist, abusive, and harassing in nature."
Hospital's Early Knowledge of Allegations
Royal Perth Hospital was contacted for comment but referred enquiries to AHPRA. However, the Daily Mail understands the hospital was aware of Dr Azzam's behavior as early as July 2024, when a Jewish doctor complained to the hospital's medical director about the doctor's online harassment and trolling.
The openly Jewish doctor, who said he has not posted about Israel or Zionism, nor has he ever met Dr Azzam, reported that the doctor sent him more than 30 messages on Facebook with just a Palestinian flag. When asked why, Dr Azzam allegedly replied, "I just like to send pretty pictures to people."
"So for him, whom I've never met, to single me out and a number of other people, it's only because he's lurking on various Jewish social media groups," the doctor said on condition of anonymity. He added that he was aware Dr Azzam was hassling other staff including those of Jewish heritage, and that while hospital authorities acknowledged knowing something about it, "to my knowledge, they didn't do anything."
Broader Pattern of Discrimination in Healthcare
In Parliament last October, AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner revealed the agency had received 188 discrimination notifications, mostly relating to social media, since October 2023, involving 95 practitioners. "We have no tolerance for discrimination in the health system. We are against any form of discrimination," he said, adding he was unable to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality clauses. "We take these kinds of allegations exceptionally seriously. Within the organisation we have a dedicated unit that is looking at these matters."
At that time, just two cases were heading to the tribunal which has the powers to caution or deregister doctors. Senator Andrew Bragg said the volume of cases suggested the problem could be systemic. "If I were a Jewish patient, I would be very worried about the kind of treatment I would be receiving from persons who are effectively threatening the community by wishing death upon people," he said. "Jewish people could be going to get a procedure done by someone threatening to kill people. That's not the Australian standard."
The case highlights growing concerns about online harassment within the medical profession and the challenges regulatory bodies face in addressing social media misconduct by healthcare professionals.
