RFK Jr. told a Michigan rally that Arabs ‘don’t win the Nobel Prize,’ but last year’s chemistry winner was born to a Palestinian refugee family

Dr. Zachary Rubin (rubin_allergy), a pediatric allergist, normally posts about immunology or science in general. Recently, however, he took to Instagram and TikTok to correct a claim made by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about Arab contributions to science. His post has since racked up over a million views.

In his video, Rubin first shared a clip of the Michigan rally. Kennedy told the crowd there are “500 million Arabs in the world, and yet they don’t produce science.” He went on to claim they don’t win the Nobel Prize, the Fields Medal, or the Wolf Prize, and no longer produce the literature they once did.

In response, Rubin addressed Kennedy directly, saying he “didn’t even bother to look up who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry” the previous year. Rubin then highlighted the winner, Dr. Omar Yagi, a professor at UC Berkeley who was born in Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents.

Yagi’s work could help capture carbon and provide clean water

Rubin said that Yagi developed a new class of materials called metal-organic frameworks, which have potential applications for capturing carbon dioxide and providing drinking water. Rubin pointed out that Yagi won the 2018 Wolf Prize and the 2025 Nobel Prize, both in chemistry. He added that “it’s not the first time RFK Jr. has said something so inflammatory.”

In the comments section, Rubin’s viewers shared recent and historical Arab contributions, with one TikToker calling them “the first scientists.” Commenters highlighted that Arab and Islamic civilizations contributed to fields like algebra, algorithms, surgery, medicine, education, mechanical engineering, and even cryptography. One user noted that “our numbers are Arabic,” while another pointed out that Arabic was once “the universal language of science.”

On Instagram, many users named multiple award-winning scientists from the past few decades. Some also highlighted domestic contributions, with one user sharing that St. Jude Children’s Hospital was founded by Danny Thomas, a Lebanese American.

The Washington Post reported that Kennedy made the remarks while campaigning for former congressman Mike Rogers in Michigan. During the event, Kennedy asserted that the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood destroyed Islam’s contributions to art, literature, and science, and claimed that no Muslims have won a Nobel since 1928.

Kennedy reportedly argued that this shift created stagnant societies. The outlet reported that Kennedy also tied Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, echoing allegations Rogers has repeatedly made.

Nirav Shah, a former principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, criticized Kennedy on X, calling him “unserious and incurious about the world,” and shared his own list of scientists. Samer S. Shehata, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, described the comments as “incredibly disappointing” and “bigoted.”

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify RFK Jr.’s side of the story, as this account originates from Rubin’s TikTok and Instagram posts and The Washington Post.