Australian hospital examines patient records after nurse claims to have killed Israelis
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian hospital is examining patient records after a nurse claimed online to have killed Israelis, officials said Wednesday, stressing that no evidence of harm to patients was uncovered.
The claim appears to have been the latest in a surge antisemitic attacks and rhetoric that have roiled Australia as homes, offices and businesses have been vandalised and a school and two synagogues were torched in just over a year with crimes targeting Jews.
A police strike force, established to focus on the antisemitic crimes in Sydney since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023, was investigating potential offenses stemming from the online video, including breaches of hate speech law, New South Wales state Health Minister Ryan Park said.
Hate crime officials in Sydney and Melbourne — the nation’s largest cities where 85% of Australia’s Jewish population lives — are separately investigating the discovery of a trailer containing explosives, a list of potential Jewish targets and arson attacks on two synagogues.
Two nurses who took part in an online discussion with Israeli influencer Max Veifer during a night shift on Tuesday at Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital were suspended on Wednesday, and Park said they would never work for the state health department again.
“They are vile, disgusting and deranged individuals,” Park told reporters.
Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, asserted that there has been increasing extremism among Australia's medical professionals toward Sydney's Jewish community.
“For months, I’ve been hearing from medical practitioners in the community who have been warning about extreme content posted by other doctors and nurses online,” Ryvchin told Network 10 television, adding this was not the work of “isolated individuals.”
"This is merely the tip of the iceberg,” Ryvchina added.
Authorities responded within hours after the video of the nurses, a man and woman who have not been named, was posted online. Attempts to directly contact the nurses were unsuccessful and Veifer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Veifer is a right-wing activist from Israel who uses recordings of video conversations with random users around the world to publicize his English language courses. He has had a few viral videos where he attempts to catch people making anti-Israel statements during their conversations. In an interview with Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 last month, Veifer said he was making the videos in order to reveal antisemitism and anti-Israeli sentiment in the world.
In the video, the two nurses purported to be doctors, according to department secretary Susan Pearce. There was no immediate information from their supervisors.
The female nurse said she wouldn't treat an Israeli patient but kill them while the male nurse used expletives and a throat-slitting gesture.
Park, the regional health minister, said an investigation into Bankstown Hospital has found no evidence of Jewish patients being hurt.
“To the Jewish community today, I say not only am I sorry, but I can assure you this: the care that you get in our hospitals will continue to be first class,” Park said, adding that the hospital's past record would also be looked into.
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Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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