NSW Health stands down two nurses for threatening to kill Israeli patients in online video

The Minns government has removed two nurses from Bankstown Hospital after they appeared in an online video declaring they would refuse to treat and ‘kill’ Israeli people, bragging they’d already done so | WATCH

The two nurses who appeared in the online video have been stood down from Bankstown Hospital.

The Minns government has removed two nurses from Bankstown Hospital after they appeared in an online video, wearing NSW Health scrubs, allegedly declaring they would refuse to treat Israeli people and “kill them’’, bragging that they had already done so.

The video, uploaded by popular Israeli influencer Max Veifer on Wednesday morning, showed the two nurses saying that Israelis would not just be refused treatment but be killed under their watch.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the pair, who had been identified, “would never work for NSW Health again’’.

Mr Park said the two nurses had been stood down as NSW Police’s Strike Force Pearl – a unit focusing on anti-Semitic offending – investigated the pair, aided by the health department.

“I won’t allow a slither of light for any of them (the pair) to be allowed to work in NSW Health again,” the minister said on Wednesday.

“They’re not welcome (to work) in our hospitals. Don’t bother turning up to work tomorrow. I don’t want you part of NSW Health nor part of our community.”

The minister said detectives attached to Strike Force Pearl had already arrived at Bankstown Hospital to lead the investigation into the nurses, who likely breached “everything you can imagine”, including medical standards, NSW Health responsibilities and, Mr Park said, potentially the state’s criminal hate-speech laws.

“These are vile, disgusting and deranged people, whose views do not reflect that of their colleagues, their community or NSW Health,” he said.

“They won’t be welcome ever again at NSW Health as an employee.”

In the video, the man says: “You have no idea how many (Israeli people) come to this hospital ... I send to Jahannam”, which is the Arabic translation for “hell”.

The woman tells the influencer: “It (Israel) is Palestine’s country, not your country you piece of s..t”.

“One day your time will come. One day you’ll die the most ...”

The woman goes on to say “when your time comes, I want you to remember my face so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death”.

Asked what would happen if an Israeli patient came into the hospital, the woman says: “I won’t treat them, I will kill them.”

The man said that while Mr Veifer had “beautiful eyes”, he was going to “get killed” and go to “hell”.

“Those pretty eyes should stay in this world for longer,” the man said, who described himself in the footage as a “doctor”.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park during a press conference on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Mr Park said it appeared the pair’s comments were made to Mr Veifer on a “chat space” while at work last night at Bankstown Hospital. That forum appears to be Chatroulette: a web platform that allows users across the world to randomly connect via video and audio with others.

The two concurrent users can then chat with each other on the platform, before deciding to leave, or be randomly connected with another user.

NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce said the pair had been identified this morning a few hours after the video began to circulate and that there had been a “rapid examination” of patient incidents at the hospital to investigate the nurses’ claims that Israeli patients weren’t treated.

So far, the government has found no evidence that this is the case. In the video, the man identifies himself as a doctor despite wearing nurses’ scrubs, which can constitute an offence.

In tears, Ms Pearce said the comments were “appalling on every level”, offering her “sincerest apologies” to Sydney’s Jewish community.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be standing here after two NSW Health staff said such horrendous things,” she said in tears.

“There’s a number of issues, let alone hate speech – everything you can imagine has been breached in that video.”

Mr Park said the pair had taken an axe to a tenet of NSW Health: “that every Australian should be able to go to their local hospital and get quality, safe care”.

“To the Jewish community, I am sorry and the care you receive at our hospitals will be first class,” he said, adding investigators were combing through Bankstown Hospital to ensure the video was an isolated case.

“Our employees are deeply upset and deeply embarrassed… Our utmost energy and dedication will go toward reassuring the Jewish community that our hospitals will provide them with safe and quality care.”

NSW Police, given the “ramifications of the disgusting commentary”, will lead the criminal investigation, aided by NSW Health, which will conduct its own probe.

Anthony Albanese said the footage was “disgusting, sickening and shameful”, saying that the “anti-Semitic comments” had no place in Australia or its health systems.

Premier Chris Minns said he understood that the Jewish community would be “appalled” at the video.

“We understand (the video, comments) undermines the basic confidence in the health system and that these individuals can’t return to wards or public hospitals in NSW,” he said.

“We cannot stand for racism and bigotry in our public services. The taxpayers of the state deserve nothing less, and basic decency demands that we don’t have people who operate like this in public services in the state.”

The nurse, top, and Israeli influencer Max Veifer, bottom.

The pair of nurses talking on the Chatroulette platform.

The video had begun to circulate on social media globally, particularly in Israel, where that country’s deputy Foreign Minister, Sharren Haskel, said anti-Semitism had become a “disease in Australia”.

“There needs to be an investigation immediately into these two Australian medical professionals who are saying they will kill Israeli patients – and suggesting that they already have,” she said.

“They are expressing criminal intent towards Jewish people; this must be stopped.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin, said the video was “utterly sickening to watch”.

“Their unrepentant, gleeful hatred is the precursor to the violence we are experiencing in our country and it must be stamped out,” he said.

“No doubt we will see the defence that Jews have brought this hatred upon themselves through Israel’s war in Gaza.

“That these people are merely traumatised from the images of the war. They have it backwards. It is this hatred and dehumanisation of Jews that causes wars and the carnage of October 7 and if left unchecked it will further degrade our society. Time for consequences.”

Mr Ryvchin feared it was just the “tip of the iceberg”, urging for better “proactive vetting” of every NSW Health employee.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said: “That anyone feels comfortable spewing this hatred while wearing NSW-branded scrubs is sickening”.