Health sector reacts to antisemitism – Pollies speak out, nurses rally, migration questioned

A nurse who vowed to “kill” Israeli patients and another who claimed he had already sent Israeli patients to the afterlife have now been banned from practising “anywhere in Australia, in any context”.

Ahmad “Rashad” Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh were deregistered by the Nursing and Midwiferey Council of NSW, effective from February 13, Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed on Thursday.

“The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has automatically updated their record on the public register of practitioners,” Minister Butler said.

“As a result this means the two nurses are unable to practise nursing anywhere in Australia, in any context.

“Australians have a right to feel safe wherever they go and nowhere should be safer than a hospital.

“Their sickening comments – and the hatred that underpins them – have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.”

The pair were filmed wearing their NSW Health uniforms as they threatened Israeli patients in an antisemitic tirade during a video call with Israeli influencer Max Veifer, drawing nationwide attention and strong criticism from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“The antisemitic video circulating today is disgusting. The comments are vile,” he said in a statement on X.

“These antisemitic comments, driven by hate, have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.

“These individuals have been stood down by NSW authorities. They have rightly been referred to the NSW Police for criminal investigation.”

Police investigation

It has since been revealed by 7NEWS that police allegedly found a vial of morphine in Nadir’s personal locker at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney’s southwest.

It’s understood Nadir allegedly asked a former colleague to empty his locker.

But that staff member claimed they felt uncomfortable and instead called the police.

The vial was seized by police and is expected to form part of the investigation into the nurses, 7NEWS reported.

This comes after officers from NSW Police's Strike Force Pearl – established in December in response to a growing number of antisemitic attacks – reportedly raided the home of Mr Nadir on Friday night, just hours after he was hospitalised.

NSW Police confirmed in a statement that the property had been searched and a number of items had been seized. No arrests have been made.

Mr Nadir was taken to hospital on Thursday night over mental health concerns.

NSW Police said a 27-year-old man “was taken to hospital for assessment” after officers received “reports of a concern for welfare” about 8.55pm.

Mr Nadir and Ms Abu Lebdeh had remained holed up inside their homes in Bankstown and Greenacre, in Sydney’s southwest, and reportedly refused to be voluntarily interviewed by police.

Dutton questions migration

After learning that one of the nurses involved was granted Australian citizenship in 2020, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for a review of the country’s migration system.

Mr Dutton said there were “big problems in this country when somebody like that can become an Australian citizen.”

“There needs to be a proper process in place to understand how this individual became an Australian citizen and where the failing in the system originated, and how we can make sure it doesn’t happen,” he told Sydney talkback station 2GB on Thursday.

Ahmad Rashad Nadir came to Australia from Afghanistan as a 12-year-old. Mr Dutton was home affairs minister in the former Coalition government when Mr Nadir was granted citizenship.

Mr Nadir has been facing calls for his citizenship to be stripped – a move Mr Dutton said had “constitutional constraints”.

“There’s a provision under the migration act […] that if somebody has made a false declaration […] there is the ability to revoke (citizenship), say somebody who has committed a terrorist attack,” he said.

“But even that is limited, and there was a high court case in the […] last couple of years, where that really restricted the ability of the government to be able to strip somebody of their citizenship.

“So there are constitutional constraints.”

Nurses rally

Also on Thursday, nurses gathered outside the NSW parliament to protest against hate speech.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) assistant general secretary Michael Whaites said members were “horrified” and “devastated” by the footage, adding that the nurses’ comments in the video did “not speak for nurses and midwives”.

“We find the comments to be abhorrent, and I want to reassure the people of Australia, of NSW, of our Jewish communities, our Israeli communities, that they do not speak for nurses and midwives, they do not speak for our profession,” he said.

Bankstown Hospital staff have allegedly been subject to abuse since the video surfaced, according to nurses at the rally.

“I’m devastated about the impact that this is having on the Jewish community … on all of our communities,” Mr Whaites said.

“People should feel safe, and I want to reassure people that the vast majority of nurses and midwives will absolutely provide the best care to everyone that crosses the threshold, no matter their background.”

Exiled Labor MP Senator speaks out

Exiled Labor MP Senator Fatima Payman has confessed she “held my tongue for too long” over two Sydney nurses caught on camera making vile antisemitic remarks insisting that while what they said was wrong, the pile on had gone too far.

Senator Payman spoke out on Sunday insisting that what the nurses did was wrong and adding that “thankfully no Israeli patient was killed”.

She then added a but, suggesting that a double standard was at play over the furore.

“Let me be crystal clear. What these two nurses said was wrong. No one should be ever be denied medical care based on their race, religion or nationality. There is never an excuse for that,’’ she said.

“That being said, we need to address the elephant in the room. The Prime Minister has commented. Premiers have weighed in.

“They made a terrible comment yet are been treated as if they have committed the absolute worst crime imaginable,” Senator Payman said.

“These individuals have been fired, banned from ever working as nurses again, raided by police, placed under the most intense public scrutiny and now (they are) the ones being hospitalised; they’ve apologised, they have been punished.

“What is the end goal here? What exactly are we trying achieve? Justice or just public humiliation?

“We never see the same level of anger and vitriol when the roles are reversed.”