'This means the two nurses are unable to practise nursing anywhere in Australia'
A pair of nurses from Bankstown Hospital in New South Wales will no longer be able to practise their profession in Australia after the "sickening comments" they made on a viral anti-Semitic rant.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW suspended the registrations of the nurses, Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, on Thursday.
"As a result, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has automatically updated their record on the public register of practitioners and as a result this means the two nurses are unable to practise nursing anywhere in Australia, in any context," Butler said in a statement.
"Their sickening comments – and the hatred that underpins them – have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia."
The pair of nurses made the anti-Semitic comments in a video where they were speaking to Israeli influencer Max Veifer.
"I'm so upset that you're Israeli, like eventually you're going to get killed," said Nadir to Veifer in the video, as quoted by news.com.au.
Lebdeh later also appeared on-screen saying: "When your time comes, I want you to remember my face so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death."
She also said she won't treat an Israeli patient seeking care: "I won't treat them, I'll kill them … Not God forbid, I hope to God."
Nadir, while slicing his hand across his neck, also said: "You have no idea how many Israeli … dog came to this hospital and … I literally sent them to (the afterlife)."
Susan Pearce, NSW health secretary, said they contacted the NSW Police to assist them in the investigation.
"I cannot tell you or restate strongly enough how seriously we are taking this issue. There is no place for this in our health system," Pearce said in a video statement.
She added that the NSW's health system welcomes people from all walks of life, from all cultural backgrounds, and from religious backgrounds.
"And my very clear message to the Jewish communities right across New South Wales: I'm so sorry that this happened. I'm so very sorry," the secretary said. "Please be aware that our hospitals are safe. They are safe places, and we have already taken steps to review the safety of the hospital concerned in this matter."
The incident emerged as NSW Premier Chris Minns introduced new and stronger laws in Parliament that target antisemitism and racial hatred across the state.
Minns, in a speech on Monday, said changes under the new law include:
"These laws we hope will send the clearest possible message," the premier said. "These are serious crimes. And if you're going to commit these acts – if you are thinking about spreading racial hatred on our streets – you will face these full penalties."
There have been over 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2023 and September 2024 in Australia, according to the latest data from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
The council noted that there was a 316% increase in the overall number of reported anti-Semitic incidents in Australia in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Source: Executive Council of Australian Jewry
"Whilst the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents has fluctuated from year to year previously, there has never been anything like an annual increase of this magnitude," said ECAJ Research Director Julie Nathan in a statement.
Nathan said the response from political and community leaders, university executives, as well as civil society has been "tepid at best."
"The physical, verbal, and other forms of attacks on Jewish individuals, families, and community venues will continue to worsen unless governments, police, and others show some spine by taking resolute action to halt the rising tide of acts of hatred against the Jewish community and bringing those responsible to account," she said.
