<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338191</docID> <postdate>2025-02-13 15:12:51</postdate> <headline>Nurses’ Israeli kill comments ‘a hate crime’: top cop</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>Police will examine the unedited version of a video that shows two since-suspended nurses allegedly threatening to kill Israeli patients in an incident a top officer described as "definitely a hate crime".</strong></p> <p>The anti-Semitic views expressed by two NSW nurses in a widely shared video chat with Israeli influencer Max Veifer have been labelled an "aberration" as leaders look to rebuild confidence in the public health system.</p> <p>The state's police commissioner, Karen Webb, said investigators had spoken to Mr Veifer and were awaiting a statement from him along with raw footage of his conversation with the Bankstown Hospital staff.</p> <p>The vision, recorded from a website that pairs people for random video chats, has since been removed from social media after sparking urgent investigations to identify the pair.</p> <p>CCTV footage has been seized from the hospital in Sydney's southwest, while staff there have also been interviewed by police.</p> <p>"It's important that we put all these pieces together for a complete picture of what has occurred," Ms Webb told ABC radio on Thursday, adding it will inform the direction of the investigation and determine what charges could be laid.</p> <p>The unfolding scandal 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 said.</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>A comprehensive review into the incident would take place, he added.</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>"You have no idea how many Israeli (sic) ... came to this hospital and ... I send them to (hell)," the nurse said.</p> <p>The female nurse also said she would refuse treatment to and instead kill Israeli patients who attended the hospital.</p> <p>The comments have been condemned by political, medical and community leaders and sparked urgent audits of patient care.</p> <p>An initial examination by NSW Health found no evidence the care of any patients had been affected but a more thorough investigation would follow.</p> <p>The male nurse appearing in the video issued an apology through a lawyer after being stood down.</p> <p>The nurse separately told reporters the incident was a misunderstanding and a mistake.</p> <p>Police were still waiting to speak to the pair, but investigators have been in contact with solicitors representing them and charges could follow, Ms Webb said.</p> <p>"What people have seen so far is definitely a hate crime, this is a racial hatred on a level that I haven't seen before," she said.</p> <p>Mr Minns said he believed the "abject racism" displayed in the video would fall under existing laws as politicians debate on overhaul of that legislation.</p> <p>While an investigation was still under way, Health Minister Ryan Park said he wanted to ensure neither of the nurses could work in a public hospital ever again.</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>