Bankstown Hospital nurses anti-Semitic video: Nurses’ hate desecrates all that is sacred about living in this country

Two nurses have been stood down by NSW Health after saying they would allegedly ‘kill’ Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital.

Two nurses at Bankstown Hospital, located in Sydney’s western suburbs, have been removed from their positions after declaring on video they would refuse to treat – and would kill – Israeli patients who presented for care. This scandal marks the first time in Australian history that healthcare workers have openly declared their intent to murder patients based on nationality.

Healthcare enjoys a special place in the Australian psyche. The fact that everyone – no matter who they are – can access the highest quality care through our public hospitals is a source of national pride. When you ask people why they live in Australia, healthcare is typically listed among the top five reasons why citizens stay, and migrants arrive.

NSW Health nurse Rashad Nadir stood down following anti-Semitic video. Picture: Supplied

From the moment an Australian is born, they know that if they get sick or have an accident, they will be treated in hospital without receiving a bill. They can be confident the care will be of high quality. This is what makes the NSW nurses scandal such a bombshell. It rends a tear in a blanket of trust that all Australians experience as a birthright. The sight of nurses in NSW government uniform declaring murderous intent represents a fundamental break in the social compact. The two nurses have now been identified as Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh.

This social compact is grounded in a small-l liberal, egalitarian society. We pay high taxes that support our welfare system, schools, hospitals and disability scheme. Australians accept this because our culture emphasises that “we’re all in this together”. This attitude was one reason why Australians were so compliant during Covid lockdowns. Because we are a small country, on a harsh, unforgiving landscape there is a much higher sense of collectivism in Australia as compared to the US. Rejecting the aristocratic class system of the Old World, Australia has a much stronger egalitarian spirit than Britain. The only comparable cultures are the high-trust nations of Scandinavia, similarly small nations with robust welfare systems.

You can see the trust breaking down in real time in the faces of our health bureaucrats. In a press conference on Wednesday morning, the NSW Health Minister Ryan Park looked visibly angry as he described the nurses’ behaviour as “vile and disgusting”, emphasising they will “never, ever, ever” work for NSW Health again. Holding back tears, the NSW Health Secretary opened her statement saying “never in her wildest dreams” did she think she would have to address the media about staff threatening to murder patients.

Yet while the emotion of these leaders is real, it’s unlikely we will get complete honesty about what has happened here. The nurses responsible for bringing the NSW Health system into disrepute are from a minority group themselves. Referring to “Jahannam”, the Arabic word for hell, and wearing a hijab, both of them speak the language of Islam.

And the incident occurs against a backdrop of escalating anti-Semitism in Australia that has now entered the realm of domestic terrorism. From the mob chanting “Where’s the Jews” at the Sydney Opera House less than 48 hours after the October 7 massacre, to the discovery of a caravan of explosives intended for a Sydney synagogue in January, what began as street demonstrations has metastasised into organised terror.

The NSW nurses scandal forces us to confront an uncomfortable, but urgent, question: If one group of Australians cannot safely access public healthcare – a basic right and necessity – can we still claim to be a “successful” multicultural society? That we are multicultural is a fact. The claim we are successful is now under doubt.

The reality today is that any Australian who is Jewish, appears Jewish, has a Jewish name, or simply supports Israel, may experience hesitancy when visiting a public hospital. For the first time in our history, Australians will have to consider the ethnic and political beliefs of their healthcare workers. Again, this is unprecedented. It represents a fundamental shift.

The mateship ethos that defines Australian identity rests on a simple truth: we look after each other. We support Medicare because we believe in equal treatment for all. Never before have Australians had to worry about what clan, race, or political group their nurse belongs to. Such tribal considerations are alien to our culture.

The shock in our health officials’ faces reveals how deeply this has breached the social compact. The nurses have not just threatened individual patients – they have desecrated something that is sacred to Australians. Using the authority of our healthcare system to declare murderous intent against any group of Australians is more than a criminal act. It is a rejection of the foundational values that make Australia work. Such a problem must be named and addressed by our leaders. No bureaucratic action will be able to restore what will be lost if we fail to confront those who continue to reject Australian values while enjoying its benefits.

Claire Lehmann is founder and editor-in-chief of Quillette.