Australia: Investigation uncovers anti-Semitic culture is growing across health care providers

A wide-ranging investigation published by The Australian has highlighted a series of troubling allegations concerning a rise in antisemitism within Australia’s healthcare system since the attacks of October 7, 2023.

More than 30 doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals described an increasingly politicized workplace, alleged discrimination against Jewish patients and staff, and incidents that have caused growing concern within the country’s Jewish community.

According to the testimonies gathered by the newspaper, pro-Palestinian activism that emerged on Australian streets after October 7 gradually spread into hospitals and other medical institutions.

Staff members at several hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney were reportedly seen wearing badges or displaying posters bearing the slogan “From the river to the sea.” Political stickers were also allegedly placed in hospital departments, including one depicting a Star of David crossed out with a red line.

At Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, such a sticker was reportedly placed near the bed of a dying Jewish patient. The hospital has historically received substantial financial support from Jewish philanthropists.

The investigation also documented a rise in political posts shared on the social media accounts of some healthcare professionals.

Dr. Carly Devinsky, a pediatric neurologist now based in Israel, said some doctors and nurses had allegedly shared antisemitic cartoons, references to Nazism and posts in which the word “Jews” was replaced with “Zionists.”

She said such material continued to circulate long after October 7. Following the Bondi Beach attack, one experienced doctor reportedly described people attending a memorial gathering as “Zionists supporting genocide.” The allegation has been submitted to a commission of inquiry.

The report also described a deterioration in workplace relations at several institutions.

Facebook groups that had previously been used to organize shifts and communicate among colleagues reportedly became forums for political arguments. Several Jewish healthcare workers said they were excluded, criticized or targeted after raising the issue of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza or discussing the October 7 massacres.

At a major Melbourne hospital, an experienced intensive-care nurse resigned after more than a decade, saying management had failed to respond adequately to hateful social media posts shared by colleagues.

“If people are capable of posting these kinds of things online, imagine how they treat a Jewish patient face to face,” she said anonymously.

The most serious allegations, however, concern the treatment of Jewish patients.

Since the release of a video showing two employees at Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital making hostile remarks about Israeli patients, several members of the Jewish community have said they are now reluctant to disclose their religion when seeking hospital treatment.

Charlotte Freiman, 64, the daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, described what she said was a deeply distressing experience at a Melbourne clinic where she was receiving cancer treatment.

Freiman said a nurse with whom she had previously had a cordial relationship appeared to change his behavior after learning that she was Jewish. While inserting an intravenous line, he allegedly made four attempts, causing considerable pain and lasting bruising. She said similar incidents occurred during later appointments. “He seemed more like a trainee than an experienced nurse,” she said.

Another Israeli patient, Orit Brand, reported a similar experience at a Melbourne hospital. She said a radiologist wearing a hijab made eight unsuccessful attempts to insert an IV. Brand then asked for another medical professional, who reportedly succeeded on the first attempt without causing pain. The investigation noted that there was no evidence proving that either incident was deliberate. However, several nurses interviewed for the report said hospital protocols limiting the number of attempts by a single healthcare worker may have been breached.

Nurit Haddad, a mental-health nurse in New South Wales, said she had repeatedly heard similar accounts. “Stories involving needles keep coming up,” she said. “It is an easy way to make someone suffer, and there is always an explanation: ‘I couldn’t find the vein.’”

Midwife Sharon Stolyar also said she had received several reports from Jewish patients. She cited the case of a woman who underwent a caesarean section at a Sydney hospital and was allegedly left for hours without pain relief, lying in her own blood while her newborn cried beside her. “Patients are extremely vulnerable in hospital,” Stolyar said. “Doctors, nurses and midwives hold enormous power over them.”

In Adelaide, a patient receiving intensive care alleged that a nurse denied both the Holocaust and the October 7 massacre in her presence. The investigation also reported allegations of discrimination against Jewish medical students and junior doctors.

Several said they had been marginalized, mocked or verbally abused by colleagues, supervisors or patients. Many reportedly chose not to file formal complaints because they feared damaging their careers.

Leah, a young mother living in Melbourne, said she sought psychological support after learning that two of her cousins had been killed in the October 7 attack on a kibbutz. According to her account, the counselor criticized her for discussing her family’s loss without also expressing sympathy for people in Gaza. “This is not a competition of tragedies,” Leah said. “We are all suffering, and I simply needed help dealing with my grief.”