Who is Max Veifer, the Israeli influencer who exposed NSW nurses with Instagram post?
By Riley Walter
Within hours of posting footage online allegedly showing two NSW nurses bragging about killing and refusing to treat Israeli patients, social media influencer Max Veifer was at the centre of the biggest news story in the country.
The footage posted to Veifer’s more than 100,000 social media followers led to the nurses, Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, being stood down and a police investigation launched.
Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer posted a video online allegedly showing two NSW nurses bragging about killing and refusing to treat Israeli patients online.Credit: Instagram
Who is Max Veifer?
With just under 150,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, Veifer regularly uses the social media platform Chatruletka – which allows users to speak to randomly chosen strangers around the world – to expose antisemitism.
Most posts on Veifer’s Instagram account appear to be conversations on Chatruletka. The conversation with Nadir and Abu Lebdeh also appears to have taken place on the site.
Veifer has previously posted videos to his social media accounts outing chatroom users he has connected with who share antisemitic views.
Other posts on Veifer’s Instagram account document his travels and show him posing for photographs with luxury cars. Veifer has been contacted for comment.
What happens next?
Nadir and Abu Lebdeh are expected to be fired from their positions at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital pending an investigation into the video.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said hard-working staff at Bankstown Hospital were embarrassed and upset by the video. The minister did not personally speak with Abu Lebdeh or Nadir.
NSW Health secretary Susan Pearce has undertaken 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, Nadir identifies himself as a doctor despite wearing nurses’ scrubs.
A NSW Police spokesperson said officers attached to Strike Force Pearl, which investigates acts of antisemitism, had taken over the investigation.
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