Hate-filled nurses’ rants show we cannot look the other way any longer

In Australia, in 2025, the hatred of Jews is no longer whispered behind closed doors — it is shouted, celebrated and paraded in the streets, writes Dvir Abramovich.

The Jewish woman’s hand trembles as she hovers over the hospital admission form. Her heart pounds. The question stares back at her, inked in clinical black: Religion?

She swallows hard.

She’s been here before — a thousand times, for check-ups, for tests, for the birth of her children.

But today, the air feels different. The walls seem to whisper, and the fluorescent lights hum with menace.

She looks at the blank space on the form. If she writes “Jewish”, will it seal her fate? Will the nurse beside her, dressed in crisp medical whites, see her as a patient? Or as prey?

This is Australia in 2025.

We are standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at something dark, something monstrous, something we never thought would return. And yet, here it is, leering back at us from the abyss.

Nurses have rallied outside Parliament House in Sydney against hate speech in NSW hospitals following two nurses’ anti-Semitic tirade at Bankstown Hospital. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Not long ago, a Jewish person walking into a hospital worried about their diagnosis, their treatment, their recovery. Now, they will worry about whether their nurse will let them die.

Two nurses — medical professionals trained to save lives — sat in front of a camera and laughed about murdering Jews.

Not turning them away. Not refusing treatment. Killing them.

Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, wearing their NSW Health uniforms, were filmed declaring they would refuse to treat Israelis and "kill them" if they were in their ward. Picture: NewsWire Handout

They said it without fear, without hesitation, without shame — because in this country, in this moment, they knew they could.

Because in Australia, in 2025, the hatred of Jews is no longer whispered behind closed doors — it is shouted, celebrated, paraded in the streets.

These weren’t skinheads in a dark alley. These weren’t criminals lurking in the shadows.

These were nurses.

Imagine your mother lying in a hospital bed.

Imagine your father, weak from surgery, trusting the hands that hover over his chest.

Now imagine that the person in charge of his life wants him dead.

This is not a warning. This is not an exaggeration.This is the world we are now living in.

For years, we were told it wasn’t that bad.

When protesters screamed “f*** the Jews” outside the Sydney Opera House, they called it “passion.”

Every step of the way, we were told to calm down, to stop overreacting, to believe that it would pass.

And then two nurses, wearing NSW Health uniforms, vowed to slaughter Jewish patients.

Are you calm now?

The Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was recently fire bombed as a wave of anti-Semitism continues to sweep the country. Picture: David Caird

Tell me, at what point does this become unacceptable?

Was it the first slur? The first attack? Or will it only matter when a Jewish body is found lifeless in a hospital room, with no evidence but a silent monitor and a nurse who simply ‘didn’t get there in time’?

This is the test of our nation.

And right now, we are failing.

A Jewish man walks into a synagogue and wonders if it will be firebombed next.

A Jewish father hesitates before stepping outside with his kippah — does he risk a beating today?

A Jewish mother no longer sleeps. She listens to the silence of the night and wonders if her kids are safe at school while her children dream of a world that no longer wants them.

This is not a nightmare from the past.

If a Jew is ever killed, the victim of a hate crime in this country — they will not die alone.

They will die with the fingerprints of every politician who stayed silent.

With the indifference of every person who downplayed the threat and who shook their head but did nothing.

Do not look away.

Do not pretend this is an isolated case.

Do not let them convince you that this is just about two “bad apples” who “didn’t mean it.”

Today, it is Jewish patients in a hospital.

Tomorrow, it will be Christian doctors, Muslim teachers, Sikh shopkeepers. What happens next matters.

The first signs of growing anti-Semitism emerged during the “Rally For A Free Palestine” outside the The Sydney Opera House when protesters screamed: “F**k the Jews.” Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Will these nurses be banned for life from practising medicine?

Will they be criminally charged?

Or will their “context” be discussed in polite circles while Jewish Australians wonder if their next hospital visit will be their last?

Do not tell me this is complicated.

Do not tell me this is a “grey area.”

A nurse who swears to kill patients does not deserve the privilege of hesitation.

One day, your grandchildren will ask you where you stood.

They will ask you if you spoke out.

If you raised your voice.

What will you tell them? That you read the headlines and moved on?

That you scrolled past the video and thought, “That’s awful, but what can I do?”

Or will you say, “I fought. I spoke. I refused to look away.”

The Jewish people have seen this story before. We know how it ends.

This time, we are writing a different ending. The question is — will you?

Dr Dvir Abramovich is Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission