Community desperate for courage, goodwill … and unity

Like a stone thrown into a pond, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack has unleashed ever-widening ripples of discord, destruction and horror, not only in its immediate area, but also here in Australia.

Our nation potentially teeters on the brink of a dreadful abyss of hatred and violence previously unknown to our people.

The constant shocked refrain, “There is no place for … in Australia”, has taken on the likeness of a straw desperately clutched as events escalate and overtake such words; the latest outrage the appalling anti-Semitic claims and threats by the two NSW Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital nurses.

A tentative cause for hope is that a bipartisan response of horror and condemnation from political opponents is emerging, with prominent members of the Muslim community also loudly condemning what has been revealed. Our nation is in desperate need of unity. With goodwill, absolute determination, courage and dogged perseverance, it should not be impossible to unite in the face of what would destroy us.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East, Vic

The rantings of two nurses have harmed not only the Jewish and wider communities but the honour of those ethical Muslim nurses and doctors currently in our health system. How would a hijab-wearing doctor or nurse feel walking into a ward today?

Ruth Franklin, St Ives, NSW

It’s entirely appropriate that the two Bankstown nurses who threatened to kill Israeli patients are banned from practising nursing anywhere in Australia. (“ ‘Kill Israeli’ nurses banned, police eye charges”, 14/2).

They should now spend some time studying Israel’s approach to patient care. Some years ago, I visited Hadassah hospital, the only level one trauma centre in Jerusalem. I went there to learn from their trauma doctors how they were coping with the terrible toll of dealing with the countless terror victims of suicide bombing at the time and where buses were the favourite target.

I asked one of the medical specialists what was the worst professional moment he had faced. He described a surreal circumstance where he had treated a terrorist who had arrived at the hospital. With considerable emotion in his voice, he informed me that he’d prioritised the man’s treatment over some of the terror victims (some of whom he knew) in the same unit because the terrorist was in a more severe condition. He explained that at Hadassah all patients were equal and that as a doctor his role was to preserve life. Just as in Israel, there are countless Jewish healthcare professionals working in Australian hospitals who treat patients from our Muslim communities daily, without any discrimination.

Anthony Bergin, Reid, ACT

The incident involving two nurses at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has exposed more than just extreme hate: it has also exposed questions around workplace engagement and risk.

It is reasonable to ask whether the two nurses were on their break when engaged in an online chat and whether they were using hospital IT systems and computers.

Significantly, one has to ask how people charged with looking after the vulnerable can engage in such hyperbolic language and anger, only to turn it off rapidly and return to work.

In many workplaces, it is now common to see staff on their phones. Perhaps it is time to question how engaged they are in their actual job and how switched on they are to scan and respond to weak signals about risk and something not being quite right.

People’s brains need to engage with their work. Many of us would lack confidence in being cared for by someone who only a few minutes ago had engaged in extreme anger on a chatline unrelated to their work.

Joanna Wriedt, Eaglemont, Vic

After witnessing the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the Sydney CBD week after week for the past 15 months, I can say that there is a zealous and animated cohort of demonstrators of around 500 people. Often, the protesters have numbered in the thousands.

Mostly peaceful, these marches have sometimes had aggressive elements to them. However, owing to heavy police presence, they have not gotten out of hand.

I wonder if any of these protesters hold similar views to the two nurses exhibiting hatred in our community?

Louise Dunbar, Cammeray, NSW