Bankstown Hospital nurses’ anti-Semitic video prompts calls for immigration re-think

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has demanded a public debate over Australia’s migration and citizenship processes and a former Israel Defence Forces spokesman says Israelis fear for Australian Jews after two NSW Health nurses made sickening anti-Semitic threats in a viral video.

Mr Dutton said while there were constitutional constraints on deporting citizens, the incident should trigger a “proper process” to vet the background of people applying for citizenship.

His comments appeared to allude to one of the Bankstown Hospital nurses at the heart of the scandal, Ahmad ‘Rashad’ Nadir, who fled from Afghanistan to Australia with his family when he was 12.

“It’s a worry, it’s an outrage and I tell you what, we’ve got big problems in this country when somebody like that can become an Australian citizen so there needs to be a proper process in place to understand how … (and) make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said on Ben Fordham Live.

The explosive Instagram video where two Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital nurses, Mr Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, tell a Jewish social media influencer they would refuse to treat Israeli people and would “kill them” instead, has sparked outrage around the world.

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, now senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, urged Australian politicians and law enforcement to do more to protect Jewish Australians and give them a better sense of security.

“When Israelis are concerned with the safety of Jews in Australia, that tells you a lot,” he told The Nightly during a visit to the Parliament.

“We’re a country at war, and we’re bombarded by rockets and suicide bombers and missiles and we think that Australians aren’t safe. That tells you that things have gotten out of hand.”

Mr Conricus said it was not enough to just fire the medics from their jobs without further legal action.

The incident has added to pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take firmer action against an alarming rise in anti-Semitism across Australia.

Mr Albanese was grilled by Liberal MP Julian Leeser in what may be the final parliamentary Question Time before the Federal election.

“With anti-Semitism getting worse, not better, what has our country become under your government?” said Mr Leeser.

Mr Albanese described anti-Semitism as a scourge and stressed he had condemned anti-Semitism at every opportunity.

The nurses filmed in the alarming video have been stood down pending their potential sacking and revocation of their registration. They are also facing possible criminal and health prosecutions. The NSW Nursing and Midwifery Board and the national nursing body suspended their registrations, Channel 9 reported.

On Thursday afternoon criminal lawyer Rayan Kadadi, who is representing Ms Abu Lebdeh, said her client has nothing to say.

“My client … will not be making any comment to any media outlet,” Ms Kadadi said.

“As you can all appreciate this is a very emotional and distressing time for my client and her family.

Mr Nadir’s lawyer told The Nightly on Thursday his client had not yet been interviewed by police but that an investigation was underway.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said detectives will forensically examine the full unedited recording of the conversation between the pair and Israeli influencer Max Veifer, as well as CCTV footage from the hospital. Co-workers have also been interviewed.

Ms Webb said detectives from anti-Semitism taskforce Strike Force Pearl had been in touch with Mr Veifer, and he had agreed to provide a statement and the full recording.

“We really need to commit the influencer to paper, and if we’re able to do that today (Thursday), then we can work through whether these people are charged or not,” she told 2GB.

Ms Webb said Mr Veifer’s evidence would be “critical” to determine if an offence had been committed under State or Federal legislation.

Condemnation within the medical community has been widespread.

Jamal Rifi, a prominent Lebanese Muslim community leader and Sydney doctor, called video “disgusting” and “awful.”

“Unfortunately, they have also tainted the community as a whole with such abhorrent ideas,” he told the Nightly.

“The great majority of Australian Muslims, they do not agree nor hold these views,” he added. “There is no justification for anyone to say what these two people have said.

Doctor and Labor MP Mike Freelander said he had been “horrified” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

He sought to reassure the public the medics in question were “outliers.”

“I have the utmost faith in our healthcare, public healthcare system, our public hospitals in particular,” he said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park and Jewish leaders visited the hospital on Thursday said there would be a full analysis on patient records. “There’s nothing that is standing out, but that’s an ongoing process,” he said.

“I want to restore trust and faith, particularly for the Jewish community ... We’ve let them down.”

But the consequences of the nurses’ shocking claims continue to mount as Jewish people begin transferring elective surgeries to “safer” hospitals.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said such assurances were struggling to hit home.

“I’ve had many messages from members of the Jewish community asking things like, ‘should I have my Star of David removed, lest I be in the hands of a paramedic or nurse or orderly that holds these sort of views?’” he told ABC.

Nurses on Thursday joined a rally against hate speech.

NSW nurses and midwives union president O’Bray Smith said health workers at Bankstown Hospital were devastated and had also faced abuse from patients.

“This is not us. This is not how we are as a profession,” she told the rally.

“We believe there is no hate in healthcare.”

Intensive care nurse Wing Besilos wiped away tears over the incident. “It doesn’t reflect the majority of nurses at all,” she said.

“We don’t look at their race, gender, sexuality, age - we take care of people because they are our patients.

“These are tears of anger - I’m really really angry at the moment.”

High-profile Muslim leaders have also spoken out.

“AFIC strongly condemns any form of hate speech or threats, regardless of the context. The behaviour reported in the video is unacceptable and does not reflect the values we uphold within our communities,” said Dr Rateb Jneid, President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

He called for everyone to work together to ensure safety and respect in Australia.

“We believe in the dignity of every individual and the importance of treating all patients with respect and compassion in healthcare settings.”