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BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The director of pediatric cardiac critical care with Johns Hopkins Medicine is on leave after he allegedly posted hate-filled messages on social media.

Maryland’s Council on American-Islamic Relations said the posts were made by Dr. Darren Klugman.

“We were asked by staff employees at the hospital – physicians who work there – to take action,” said Zainab Chaudry, director for Maryland CAIR.

The alleged anti-Palestinian posts surfaced from the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.

The account @DrKlugs shared a series of statements, including a post that described Palestinians as “blood thirsty morally depraved animals.” Another post referred to Palestinians as “people that rape and murder civilians.”

Chaudry said her organization became aware of the social media posts on Monday night.

CAIR said it filed a complaint against Klugman with Maryland’s Board of Physicians this week.

“We’ve been listening to reaction from staff at the hospital and physicians who have reached out to us and also the families who have pulled their children from the hospital and now have taken their children to other hospitals,” said Chaudry.

Klugman, according to the Johns Hopkins website, along with being a director is also an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine.

“Healthcare providers – physicians -- have a responsibility to demonstrate that they can care for these children regardless of their own political views regardless of which side of divide they’re on, how they perceive the events unfolding overseas,” said Chaudry.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins Medicine told WBFF:

"We at Johns Hopkins share the concern of many about the deeply disturbing social media posts made by a faculty member in the School of Medicine regarding the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The faculty member who made these statements has been placed on leave, and thus will have no interaction with students or patients while we conduct a thorough investigation under our policies and procedures.

Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins University are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for working, learning and patient care for every member of our community and all those we serve. Statements that explicitly threaten or extol violence against groups or individuals on the basis of national origin, race or religion violate our policies and do not represent our values."

The account responsible for the social media posts has been deleted.

“The damage that’s been done is irreparable and I think at this point -- it’s too little too late," said Chaudry. "A leave is not enough. We are calling for him to be terminated we are calling for his medical license to be revoked."

Citing state confidentiality laws on Thursday, the Maryland Department of Health said it could not disclose whether or not Klugman is under investigation by the State's Board of Physicians.

"If an investigation shall result in charges or any disciplinary action by the Board, a summary of charges filed against the licensee and a description of the disciplinary action is made public on the practitioner’s profile on the Board’s website," a MDH spokesperson said, in part.

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