Australian leaders condemn hospital workers’ ‘vile’ anti-Semitic comments to Israeli influencer Max Viefer

Australian leaders have unequivocally condemned the “disgusting” footage of two NSW Health workers telling an Israeli social media influencer they would “kill” Israeli people who attended their hospital for treatment.

7NEWS.com.au reports Ahmad “Rashad” Nadir and a female colleague have been stood down from Bankstown Hospital, in Sydney’s west, after the video of them telling Jewish influencer Max Viefer they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and would “kill” them went viral.

In the video, Nadir, who told Viefer he was a doctor at the hospital, suggested that he had killed Israeli people who sought treatment at hospital.

“You have no idea how many [Israeli people] come to this hospital ... I send to Jahannam (hell)”, he said before making a throat-slitting gesture.

The woman, who has not been identified, also told Viefer he would “die the most disgusting death”.

NSW Police have vowed to conduct a “thorough investigation” into the medicos, who were stood down from their jobs after the video surfaced.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded on Tuesday to unequivocally condemn the duo’s “disgusting”, anti-Semitic comments. He vowed that any others who commit “criminal” anti-Semitic acts would face “the full force of our laws”.

“The comments are vile. The footage is sickening and shameful,” he wrote.

“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. Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed on Tuesday the workers had been stood down from their roles, pending a full investigation into the incident, but said “they will not be back in NSW Health”.

“We need to set a clear and unambiguous message that if you go to an emergency department, if you’re on a ward, anywhere in NSW, you will be treated by people who are highly trained, who are highly skilled, who care about you,” Mr Minns said.

“I can understand right now members of the Jewish community … would be appalled at this latest revelation. We just can’t stand for it.”

Mr Minns said details on the investigation were light as the process needed to be “iron-clad” to ensure there was no “administrative turnback” to allow the duo to return to NSW Health.

“I want to make sure people understand that these individuals won’t be returning to the office but there’s a process to be followed and that will take place as soon as possible.

The Federal and NSW health ministers have echoed their leaders’ condemnation of the “appalling” comments.

Federal minister Mark Butler said: “The idea that you would single out a particular group in our community and indicate you wouldn’t care for them runs against every single principle in our health care system.”

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said “the comments are vile, dehumanising and unacceptable. They made me sick to my stomach.”

“These comments do not reflect the values of NSW Health or the broader NSW community.”

‘Anti-Semitism has sadly taken root in Australia’

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of Executive Council of Australian Jewry, also blasted the video, saying it was “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“It always seems to take an extreme incident like this to bring some sort of clarity and action,” Mr Ryvchin said at a press conference.

“But for a long time now, for months, I’ve been hearing from members of the community, from medical practitioners in the community, who have been warning about extreme content posted by other doctors and nurses online, about extreme content in social media chats.

“This is clearly the first time it’s gone to such a public, brazen level.

“But I think we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought that these were isolated individuals. I think that this is merely the tip of the iceberg.”

Mr Ryvchin said the “troubling example” of anti-Semitism was just the latest, most brazen example of the hate that had permeated Australian society — “We’ve seen it in the legal profession, we’ve seen it in the humanities academia,” he added.

“I view it as an insight into the ideology that leads people to burn, to attack, to vilify, to harass, to threaten their fellow Australians because they’re the Jewish faith.

“This is obviously an extremely startling and troubling example, because it is so brazen, it is so open, it is so public, and it is in the medical profession. But this is happening across society.”