Australian hospital gives Jewish terror victim Anglicised alias without her consent
Questions raised over ability of Sydney hospitals to keep Jewish patients safe after staff changed Rosalia Shikhver's name to ‘Karen Jones’ during treatment
A victim of the Bondi Beach terror attack who was issued with a pseudonym by the hospital which treated her has spoken about how she believes the medical facility did so due to fears about how its own staff might care for her if they knew she was Jewish.
Rosalia Shikhverg, 72 years old, was rushed to Liverpool Hospital in western Sydney on December 14 2025 after sustaining gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the head during the Islamist mass-shooting that left 15 dead and dozens wounded.
Upon admittance her original wristband, which contained her real name, was cut off and a new one was issued, labelled ‘Karen Jones’. Her religion was left unspecified and the fake name was also applied to her discharge summary and medication. All this was done without her permission.
Shikhverg said: “I was so scared. They were afraid of staff, not media,” adding: “I was thinking, ‘I have to be discharged very quick’ because I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink [and] I cried all the time.”
Husband Greg said: “I couldn’t believe my ears”.
Acknowledging the situation could have been handled better, New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park has since issued an apology to Shikhverg, telling Sky News Australia: “It wasn’t about protecting her from staff, or [protecting] staff from different ethnic backgrounds… It was not done with any ill intent”, suggesting the decision was made due to the “heightened risks and threats” in Sydney following the attack.
After being discharged, Shikhverg spoke to other Bondi Beach terror victims treated at different hospitals — and claims they did not experience the same treatment.
In July 2025, seventeen miles away at Bankstown Hospital, two Australian nurses who said they would refuse to treat Israelis were banned for two years from working from or providing any services to participants of the country’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
In a conversation with TikTok user Max Veifer, Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh were recorded saying they would send Israelis ‘to hell’.
The video triggered a New South Wales state police investigation with both nurses allegedly expressing regret and saying their remarks weren’t to be taken seriously.
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