Watermelon Defence Fund raises cash for pro-Palestine activists
A not-for-profit charity named Watermelon Defence Fund is crowd-funding money to support medical staff, with the founder representing an obstetrician accused of making ‘racially motivated’ comments to colleagues.
A not-for-profit charity named Watermelon Defence Fund is crowd-funding money to support medical staff, with the founder representing an obstetrician accused of making “racially motivated” comments to colleagues.
Watermelon Defence Fund was established last year for “activists and the marginalised” and is crowd-funding for pro-Palestinian medical and healthcare workers being “badly targeted”.
On Monday, the Watermelon Defence Fund posted on Instagram soliciting donations attached with bank account details, but as of Wednesday afternoon the post had mysteriously disappeared. A separate, now expired, Instagram story urged medical and healthcare workers to “please register if you require legal advice regarding doxxing”.
It comes as Melbourne obstetrician Miranda Robinson was accused of making “racially motivated” comments towards a midwife who she claimed was “almost certainly” behind an anonymous Instagram account posting about anti-Semitism in healthcare and the conflict in the Middle East because she was a “POC” (person of colour) married to a Jewish man.
Dr Robinson is being represented by the Lebanese-born founder of Watermelon Defence Fund, Bernadette Zaydan, who is based in inner-city Melbourne.
It is unclear whether Dr Robinson – whom other medical professionals say as an obstetrician would be making over $800,000 per annum has engaged Ms Zaydan privately or is being represented through the charity.
Last year, Dr Robinson escaped punishment by the nation’s health regulator despite claiming the midwife had been “brainwashed” and that she would be “very worried” to be one of her patients. She also claimed in a private conversation that was not referred to AHPRA that her family were billionaires connected to the “Jewish mafia” and “dirty dirty money”.
Watermelon Defence Fund Pty Ltd is a charity that was registered on August 9, 2024, by Ms Zaydan. It is entitled to GST concessions, income tax exemption and FBT rebate.
Prior to The Australian publishing a story about Dr Robinson on Monday, Ms Zaydan sent an email to The Australian saying “her client reserves all her legal rights”.
Earlier this week, Ms Zaydan posted a photo of an Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov kissing Hamas terrorists, describing the image as a “powerful act of love”.
“This defiant kiss between brothers. This is what humanity truly stands for,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
The father of the now-released hostage later told Israeli media Tov was forced to perform the act.
Following The Australian’s revelations about Dr Robinson an “URGENT ACTION” notice was posted on the Watermelon Defence Fund’s social media account, claiming they had “entered into the phase of fighting back”.
“We are raising funds to cover legal fees to hold perpetrators accountable and protect the rights of those targeted,” the post reads.
“Your contribution will help ensure that affected persons can access strong legal representation and fight back against these harmful attacks. Every dollar counts in standing up for justice and safeguarding against online harassment.”
The caption of the post also tagged health regulator AHPRA saying they “no longer await your public response to your members being victims of doxxing. Our lawyers have been briefed and the evidence is being compiled”.
A separate online crowd-funding campaign launched eight months ago – several months before the charity was registered – and bearing the same name as the charity has raised $1940 out of a $6000 target, averaging $28.52 per donation.
“We are a Narrm-based collective, consisting of pro-Palestine activists and legal representatives tasked with providing support and legal counsel for Palestinian diaspora and activists being faced with legal challenges. Funds go directly to legal counsel and associated costs,” the website reads.
Last week The Australian revealed Melbourne doctor Mohamed Ghilan, who praised terrorist group Hamas and its former leader, Yahya Sinwar, had quietly begun work at a new hospital despite resigning from another just months ago after being exposed for his horrific social media posts.
Bernadette Zaydan and Dr Robinson refused to comment.
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