Australian court rejects video evidence in alleged ‘kill Israelis’ nurses case
A video allegedly showing Ahmad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh talking about killing Israeli patients has been ruled inadmissible in a trial relating to their conduct
An Australian judge has ruled that footage of two nurses allegedly filmed making antisemitic comments on a video chat cannot be admitted as evidence in a trial regarding their conduct, appearing to accept their lawyer’s argument that being filmed without their consent amounted to an illegal invasion of their privacy.
Ahmad Nadir, 28 and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, were allegedly filmed on Chatroulette, a video site where two screen users are randomly paired with each other. They were matched with Max Veifer, an Israeli content creator. They told Veifer that they worked in Bankstown hospital in Sydney.
The video footage allegedly shows that in response to Veifer telling Nadir his nationality, Nadir said he would be killed and sent to ‘Jahannam’ – hell. When Veifer questioned why he would be killed, Abu Lebdeh then joined the video, saying it was because the rightful country was “Palestine”, not Veifers.
The video allegedly then went on to show Nadir saying that Veifer had no idea how many Israeli “dogs” had come to the hospital, claiming that he had sent them to hell. It also allegedly showed Abu Lebdeh saying she would not treat Israelis and that she would kill them instead of treating them, with Nadir again joining in and reiterating that he would send Israelis to hell. Abu Lebdeh also reportedly said she wanted Veifer to remember her face when he died.
After Veifer subsequently published the alleged video in February 2025, the two nurses were suspended from the hospital for two years. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the video as “sickening and shameful”, with the Health Minister for New South Wales saying at the time that they would never work in the NSW health system ever again. In February 2025, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin said the video served as a “warning sign once again to all Australians about the evil that exists in our midst”.
Australia’s ABC reported that the two former nurses pleaded not guilty to using a carriage service to threaten, harass or offend. Abu Lebdeh also denies an additional charge of threatening violence against a group.
This month, ahead of the trial, lawyers for the accused argued that the footage had been obtained illegally and therefore violated New South Wales law. While the judge noted that the admissibility of such evidence depends on whether the desirability of admitting it outweighs the undesirability, most of the reasoning for refusing to allow the video to be used as evidence has reportedly been prevented from disclosure via a court order.
On Tuesday, the Australian Jewish Association posted a video of a headline showing that the video had been thrown out of evidence, along the words “Pretty crazy but this is Australia”.
The trial of Nadir and Abu Lebdeh is due to commence in late August. The case now reportedly rests on the willingness of Veifer himself to give evidence – with Nadir’s lawyer expressing the desire that the Israeli himself “should be charged in relation to the matter”.
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