Two nurses at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney (Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir) were involved in a viral video from February 2025 in which they allegedly made threats against Israeli/Jew
- Graham Healy
- Jul 31
- 2 min read
**Two nurses at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney (Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir) were involved in a viral video from February 2025 in which they allegedly made threats against Israeli/Jewish patients.**
### What happened
Israeli content creator Max Veifer (also known as Max Ilinsky/Ilinski) connected with them via a random video chat platform (similar to Chatroulette/Chatruletka) while they were in uniform at the hospital. In the recording:
- Nadir expressed anger that Veifer was Israeli, said he would eventually be killed and go to hell (“Jahannam”), made a throat-slitting gesture, and claimed he had already sent many “Israeli dogs” who visited the hospital to hell.
- Abu Lebdeh said it was “Palestine’s country, not your country,” used strong obscenities, stated she would not treat Israeli patients and would instead kill them, and said Veifer would “die the most horrible/disgusting death.”
The video (initially shared in edited form on TikTok/social media) triggered widespread outrage, condemnation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (who called it “sickening and shameful”), NSW Health Minister Ryan Park, and Jewish community groups. Both nurses were immediately stood down by NSW Health. Their nursing registrations were suspended, preventing them from practising anywhere in Australia. An investigation found no evidence of adverse patient outcomes linked to them at that stage.
### Legal proceedings
- **Charges**: Abu Lebdeh was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, and threatening violence to a group (a charge of using a carriage service to threaten to kill was later dropped). Nadir was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend (a separate drug possession charge was later dismissed). Both pleaded not guilty.
- They were barred from working with National Disability Insurance Scheme participants for two years.
- In June 2026, a District Court judge ruled the video inadmissible, finding it was recorded without consent (under NSW laws restricting recording of private conversations). This was a major setback for the prosecution.
- Prosecutors appealed. On 31 July 2026, the NSW Supreme Court overturned that ruling and reinstated the unedited audiovisual evidence as admissible for trial. Detailed reasons were to be published later.
**The trial is scheduled to begin on 31 August 2026** in the NSW District Court (expected to last about five days). Both remain on bail.
The case heightened concerns about antisemitism in Australian healthcare, with some Jewish patients later reporting fear of identifying their religion on medical records and other alleged incidents of bias (though those are separate from this specific case). Authorities described the nurses as isolated “bad apples” while affirming that Jewish patients are safe in NSW hospitals.
