<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338191</docID> <postdate>2025-02-13 11:56:51</postdate> <headline>Nurses’ Israeli kill threats an ‘aberration’: premier</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-338205" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ansemitism-nurses-2-resized-e1739397068213.jpg" alt="" width="843" height="562" /></p> <caption>Two NSW Health workers have been stood down over a "sickening" anti-Semitic video. Photo: TikTok</caption> <p class="wire-column__preview__author"><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Jack Gramenz and Farid Farid</b> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>The anti-Semitic views of two nurses who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients have been described as an "aberration" as police investigate the pair for potential criminal breaches.</strong></p> <p>The unfolding scandal stemming from an Israeli influencer's since-deleted social media video involving two staff at a south-west Sydney hospital has broken trust in the public health system, NSW Premier Chris Minns conceded.</p> <p>"We cannot have examples of naked racism from public servants exhibited on social media or anywhere," he told reporters on Thursday.</p> <p>"If you think that there's going to be some kind of political layer or lens when you walk through an emergency department, well that's a disaster for our public hospital system."</p> <p>But the premier said he strongly believed the video and the views expressed in it by the two nurses were an "aberration".</p> <p>"I can't promise that every single health care worker doesn't harbour the same hate or the same views, but what I can say is that the evidence is that it's a small, small fraction," Mr Minns said.</p> <p>A comprehensive review into the incident would take place, he added.</p> <p>The comments have been condemned by political, medical and community leaders and sparked urgent audits of patient care at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.</p> <p>NSW Police have seized CCTV footage from the hospital and are expected to provide an update on their investigation later in the day.</p> <p>Earlier, Health Minister Ryan Park said a "conversation" would happen on Thursday with hospital staff to make clear such comments were unacceptable and to ensure people feel confident to seek care if they were sick or injured.</p> <p>"If we have a cultural issue or challenge in certain hospitals, then we're going to get to the bottom of it," he told Nine's Today show.</p> <p>An initial examination by NSW Health found no evidence the care of any Israeli patients had been affected, but a more thorough investigation will follow.</p> <p>The male nurse appearing in the video posted online by Israeli influencer Max Veifer is trying to "make amends for what has happened", his solicitor Mohamad Sakr told reporters.</p> <p>"My client sends a very sincere apology to not only that individual but to the Jewish community as a whole," Mr Sakr added.</p> <p>The nurse separately told reporters the incident was a misunderstanding and a mistake.</p> <p>NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, a former state attorney-general, said he believed the nurses could be prosecuted for publicly threatening violence on religious grounds under existing incitement laws.</p> <p>The nurses have been stood down over the comments, made while using a website for random video chats.</p> <p>While an investigation was still underway, Mr Park said he wanted to ensure neither could work in a public hospital ever again.</p> <p>Mr Veifer posted the video, containing visible edits, to social media early on Wednesday morning.</p> <p>He has since been contacted by NSW Police as part of their investigation.</p> <p>The male nurse, identified as an Australian citizen and former Afghan refugee with six years of nursing experience, falsely claimed in the video chat with Mr Veifer that he was a doctor before telling him he was "going to go to" hell.</p> <p>The female nurse said, according to the video, she would refuse treatment or kill Israeli patients who attended the hospital.</p> <p>The NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association scrapped plans for a rally outside state parliament for better pay and conditions, instead holding a "solidarity action" against hate speech.</p> <p>Union officials have condemned the nurses' comments, saying they don't represent the broader profession.</p> </body>