In the Media

Daily Telegraph/ Courier Mail – 13 February 2025

Just when you think people in this country can’t slip any deeper into the mire of antisemitism and demonisation of Israelis, someone proves you wrong. We now have health care professionals, of all people, telling an Israeli influencer not only that all Israelis should die a horrible death, but that they personally would send Israelis to hell given the chance – and had in fact done so!

It’s bad enough that the nurses, Ahmad Nadir and Sarah Abu Ledbeh, feel this way, but it speaks volumes about how far we have sunk that they felt it was acceptable for them to say so openly and brazenly – even though they must have known they could have been recorded. This is undoubtedly a product of the unrelenting wave of anti-Israel and antisemitic incitement we have seen explode since October 7, 2023.

The strong statements from political leaders expressing their revulsion, and assurances that these people will never work in NSW Health again and police will fully investigate, are welcome. Yet this does seem like shutting the stable door after the antisemitic horse has bolted. Matters would likely never have deteriorated to this stage if similar expressions of hatred had been deplored and shut down in the months following October 2023.

It is important that these culprits are prosecuted to the full extent possible, not just because they deserve punishment, but because a strong signal needs to be sent that this conduct is totally unacceptable. This signal was lacking in late 2023 when demonstrators chanted openly threatening slogans against Jews, some imams gave openly antisemitic sermons with impunity, and police often seemed to think the way to deal with anti-Israeli rioters making areas of our capital cities unsafe for Jews was to keep Jews off the streets.

The investigation of the nurses in question needs to also urgently look at whether this is an isolated incident, or whether there are chat groups among health workers that circulate, encourage and celebrate similar sentiments. We all need to be able to feel safe in the public health system.

Moreover, given the incredibly disturbing boasts by one of the hopefully now former nurses about having sent Israelis to hell, investigations must also cover whether any Israeli or Jewish patients suffered unexpected adverse medical outcomes when treated by them.

This incident shows the dangers of letting vilification of Israel go unchecked. For well over a year, there has been regular incitement to hatred in mosques and at demonstrations, while extremist news sources available all over social media feature unremitting defamations and demonisation of the Jewish state. Even some mainstream media churn out non-stop unfair condemnation of Israel, including baseless accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing. And sadly, our Government appeared to react to the largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust by moving to distance Australia from Israel, including increasing hostile UN voting and other actions effectively demonising Israel.

This all creates an atmosphere where people now feel free to publicly vent their hatred, and even more concerningly, potentially to act on it.

The war in Gaza has demonstrated that our mentality regarding the health care system, prioritising patient welfare and safety, is not shared by Hamas, which had no compunction about repeatedly using and abusing numerous hospitals for terrorist purposes. Now this mindset seems to have made its way to the NSW hospital system.

This shouldn’t just concern Australia’s Jewish community. Once people think this is acceptable behaviour in regard to one group, it’s not such a large step to start demonising anyone else from a different religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or even just opinion. Moreover, our international reputation is also being damaged. The video has already gone viral, and there was already widespread negative publicity overseas about the wave of antisemitism afflicting Australia.

Australia used to be regarded by our Jewish community as a golden land, a place where we could all be safe and feel at home. That has tragically changed markedly over the last 16 months. It will take an earnest and sustained whole of community effort, led by our governments and law enforcement authorities – and backed up by a more visible and vocal outcry by fellow Australians – to restore the country to where it was not so long ago.

Joel Burnie is executive manager of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.