Australian Muslim groups claim ‘disproportionate’ reaction to suspended Sydney nurses
Signatories round on politicians and media outlets amid outrage at nurses who spoke about killing Israelis
A coalition of Muslim groups in Australia have claimed “political motivations” are behind the widespread outrage over two New South Wales nurses suspended for saying they would kill Israeli patients.
Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, who work at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney, were recorded in a now viral conversation with TikTok user Max Veifer. Nadir told Veifer he “would eventually be killed and go to jahannam inshallah” (the Islamic concept of hell).
Lebdeh says she would not treat an Israeli patient if they came into the hospital, adding “I’ll kill them.” Nadir then adds: “You have no idea how many Israeli dog come to this hospital” before making a slitting throat motion.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the duo’s comments as “sickening”, “shameful” and “driven by hate”.
A letter published on social media on Sunday 16 February said “healthcare should be provided justly to all” but went to on say: “This statement addresses the selective outrage and political motivations surrounding the recent controversy involving two nurses.
It claims the “most revealing aspect” of the controversy is “not the video itself but the speed, intensity and uniformity of response from certain political leaders and media outlets”. The same voices, they claimed, “have provided active diplomatic and journalistic cover for ongoing crimes by the Zionists.”
“This is more than hypocricy. It is calculated, politically motivated outrage.”
Signatories include the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and the Islamic councils of Victoria and Western Australia, as well as controversial groups such as the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown. However, the Australian National Imams Council, the peak body representing Australian-based Muslim Imams, scholars and clerics, has notably not signed the letter.
The statement says: “We condemn the hypocrisy over nurses controversy. In response to the recent controversy – and the disproportionate response it has received from political leaders and the media – a statement has been prepared to represent the sentiments of the Muslim community.”
It adds: “This is not about defending inappropriate remarks. It is about pushing back against the double standards and moral manipulation at play while the mass killing of our brothers and sisters in Gaza is met with silence, dismissal, or complicity. As a community, we stand UNITED against this manufactured moral panic.”
The authors add that Veifer’s reported recent service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) means the influencer was “involved in the genocide of the people of Gaza”.
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