Sydney Hospital Nurses Suspended Over Alleged Anti-Semitic Threats in TikTok Video
Two nurses at a Sydney hospital have been suspended pending investigation after a video surfaced on TikTok allegedly showing them making anti-Semitic threats and refusing to treat Jewish patients, Reuters reports.
Authorities confirmed the suspensions and a police investigation has been launched.
The video, shared by a TikTok user named Max Veifer, who identifies as being from Israel, features a video chat with a man and a woman wearing medical scrubs.
In the video, the man in scrubs allegedly states:
“I’m so upset that you’re Israeli… eventually you’re going to get killed and go to (hell),” after Veifer mentions his Israeli origin.
When questioned about the threat, the woman in scrubs reportedly responded with an obscenity:
“It’s Palestine’s country, not your country.”
The video further alleges that the woman stated she would not treat Jewish patients and would instead kill them. The man is accused of saying he had already sent many Israeli patients to “Jahannam,” the Islamic term for hell, while making a threatening gesture.
Ryan Park, the Health Minister for New South Wales, confirmed the nurses were “stood down immediately” pending the outcome of an investigation. The New South Wales state police have also confirmed that its anti-Semitic task force is investigating the social media video and that the individuals involved are cooperating with detectives.
Max Veifer, the TikTok user who posted the video, maintains a large online presence with 102,000 followers and 4.2 million likes on his videos, which primarily focus on the Middle East.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the Australian Federal Police have offered assistance to the New South Wales state police in their investigation.
The incident comes amidst a backdrop of escalating attacks on synagogues, buildings, and cars in Australia since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, raising concerns within the country’s Jewish community, which numbers some 115,000 people.
