Muslim groups downplay antisemitic remarks by Bankstown nurses

The controversy surrounding the dismissed Bankstown Hospital nurses, Ahmad “Rashad” Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, continues to escalate as several mainstream Muslim organizations and radical Islamist groups align in their defence.

The nurses were stood down immediately after a video surfaced in which they boasted about killing Israeli patients and vowed to “kill more.” Their remarks sparked widespread condemnation, leading to an investigation by the NSW police antisemitism task force.

Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who initially exposed the video, is currently working with detectives to finalize his statement. NSW Police’s Strike Force Pearl, which was launched last year to combat a rise in antisemitic attacks across Sydney, has taken charge of the investigation.

In the video, which was reportedly filmed on the online chat platform Chatruletka, Nadir and Abu Lebdeh allegedly told Veifer they would refuse to treat Israeli patients. Nadir is heard saying he would send Israeli patients to Jahannam (the Islamic equivalent of hell).

The video’s release has sparked a political and social firestorm. A coalition of Australian Muslim groups, including The Muslim Vote and the radical Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, dismissed the outrage as “manufactured” and politically motivated. In a joint statement, signed by over 50 organizations and individuals, the coalition claimed the backlash was an example of double standards in public morality. “It is calculated, politically motivated outrage. It is not a failure of consistency; it is the deliberate engineering of public morality,” the statement read.

The signatories included the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the Al Madina Dawah Centre, and the extreme Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was officially designated as a terrorist organization in the UK in 2024 for supporting Hamas, promoting antisemitic rhetoric, and calling for jihad. The Australian National Imams Council and the Lebanese Muslim Association declined to endorse the statement, with the latter issuing a separate condemnation of the nurses’ remarks.

WA Senator Fatima Payman also weighed in, saying the reaction to the nurses’ comments reflected a double standard. “They made a terrible comment yet are being treated as if they have committed the absolute worst crime imaginable,” she said in a video on social media.

Jewish leaders and organizations have strongly condemned the response from Muslim groups. Dr. Colin Rubenstein, Executive Director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), called the statement “morally appalling” and a threat to Australia’s multiculturalism. “AIJAC is frankly shocked and alarmed that mainstream Muslim representative bodies would associate themselves with the statement drawn up by individuals affiliated with the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir—banned in many countries—portraying the reaction to the exposure of the murderous statements of two Bankstown nurses as ‘co-ordinated outrage’ that was ‘manufactured’ to serve a ‘political narrative,’ and labelling it ‘weaponised anti-Semitism’.”

Rubenstein further warned, “If even the murderously antisemitic statements of these two nurses are being excused and explained away, it is apparent that there would probably be no expression of antisemitic views or intent by Muslim individuals that would be beyond the pale for the groups that signed this statement. This is not only morally appalling but a blatant threat to Australian multiculturalism, which serves as a key to our continued harmony and success as a society and emphasises the importance of responsibilities and shared values as well as rights. Given this threat, the statement requires firm, morally grounded and determined pushback from all our political leaders.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin also criticized the response from Muslim groups. “These so-called leaders could have stood with the nation in unambiguously condemning a despicable racist incident that exposed a threat to life and shook public confidence in our health system. Instead, they have used it as an opportunity to launch yet another attack on the Jewish community,” he said. His co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, raised concerns that even new hate speech laws being introduced in NSW may not be sufficient to prosecute cases like this.

Authorities are continuing their investigation. NSW police searched Nadir’s home and his locker at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, where they reportedly found a vial of morphine. However, there is no suggestion that Nadir has committed a crime related to the discovery. His lawyer, Mohamad Sakr, has stated that Nadir is remorseful. “By no means does he protect what he had done or hide from it,” he said. “He is more than happy to cooperate with police.”

Both Nadir and Abu Lebdeh have had their nursing registrations suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, meaning they can no longer work as nurses anywhere in Australia.

The NSW government is preparing to introduce new anti-hate laws into parliament, which would impose penalties including jail time and fines of up to $11,000 for inciting racial hatred. However, legal experts warn that the legislation may not be applicable in this case, as it requires that the act of incitement be both intentional and made publicly by the individuals in question, rather than exposed by a third party.