Nurse's bombshell move after viral video
The lawyer of a nurse charged over his involvement in an anti-Semitic video says he will argue in court to have the video excluded from court proceedings.
Ahmad Rashad Nadir, and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, both aged 27, made international headlines in February after a video of the pair bragging about killing Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital, in Sydney's west went viral.
Mr Nadir and Ms Abu Lebdeh arrived on Wednesday morning at the Downing Centre Local Court where their matters were heard for the first time inside a packed courtroom.
Both cases were adjourned for eight weeks. Their bail is to continue and they will return to court on May 13.
Mr Nadir's lawyer Zemarai Khatiz told reporters outside court that he would 'intend to argue for the video to be excluded from court', citing 'legal and technical grounds'.
Mr Khatiz alleges the video was captured 'without the consent and knowledge' of his client.
'So, he'll be defending the charges on several legal and technical grounds,' Mr Khatiz later told NewsWire.
'We will be challenging the admissibility of the video recording because it was a private conversation which was recorded by the person overseas without my client's consent and without his knowledge. That video recording was made secretly overseas and was unlawfully obtained.'
Mr Khatiz also confirmed his client would be pleading not guilty.
People shielded Ms Abu Lebdeh from the media scrum on all sides as she walked into the courthouse.
Ms Abu Lebdeh is charged with threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend.
Mr Nadir has been charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and possessing a prohibited drug.
Both nurses were stood down by NSW Health as soon as they were identified.
In the two-and-a-half minute video recorded by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, the nurses threaten to kill Israelis who came to the hospital.
Mr Veifer often uses Chatruletka and Omegle, online platforms that pair users in random video chats, to expose instances of anti-Semitism and also to learn English.
'Ahh,' Mr Nadir says. 'I'm gonna be really honest with you, you've actually got really, really beautiful eyes.
'But I'm so upset that you're Israeli … eventually you're gonna get killed and you're gonna go to Jahannam (hell). But those pretty eyes, they should stay in this world for longer.'
The exchange quickly gets heated as Mr Veifer explains he served in the IDF (Israeli Defence Force).
A woman's voice can then be heard off camera saying: 'you killed innocent people'.
The woman's voice continues: 'So you kill innocent people to protect your country? What kind of soul do you have? You have no soul.'
Mr Veifer then asked the pair: 'How are you doctors?'
Abu Lebdeh then allegedly told Mr Veifer she wanted him to 'remember my face so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death'.
Mr Veifer then begins to ask 'Let's say an Israeli, God forbid …'
'I won't treat them, I'll kill them,' Ms Abu Lebdeh says.
'Not God forbid, I hope to God.'
'You'll kill them?' Mr Veifer is heard asking.
Mr Nadir then said: 'OK you have no idea how many Israeli haram dogs came to this hospital and (makes throat slitting motion) I send them to Jahannam.'
'For real? If just Jewish people comes (sic) there …' Mr Veifer begins before the chat ends.
Following the identification of Mr Nadir in February, Strike Force Pearl raided his home and seized a number of items.
Mr Nadir was taken to hospital a few hours later over mental health concerns.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 (call), 0477 131 114 (text) or lifeline.org.auBeyond Blue: 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.auDomestic violence support: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or 1800respect.org.auSexual Assault Crisis Line: 1800 806 292 or sacl.com.auKids Helpline: 1800 551 800 or kidshelpline.com.auMensline Australia: 1300 789 978Other tips about mental health and wellbeing can be found at chrismackey.com.au/resources
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Intercept
an hour ago
- The Intercept
Trump Appointee Wanted to Lock Up CIA Leaker for a Decade. The Judge Ignored Him.
A federal judge in Virginia sentenced the former CIA employee who leaked Israeli military secrets to three years and one month in prison on Wednesday, rejecting the government's request for a much harsher term. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said she had to balance the potential harm caused by Asif William Rahman's disclosure of secret analyses of Israel's plans for an attack on Iran against his swift decision to cooperate and plead guilty to two Espionage Act violations. 'For you to go from that to this — reckless, dangerous — I understand that something must have been going on.' While the high school valedictorian and Yale University graduate sat in a green jail jumpsuit at the defense table, Giles gave credit to the defense's argument that Rahman acted both in response to soaring tensions in the Middle East and out of trauma caused in part by a deployment to Iraq. 'For someone who has lived such a law-abiding life for all these years,' she said, 'for you to go from that to this — reckless, dangerous — I understand that something must have been going on.' In addition to his prison term, she gave Rahman two years' probation and a $50,000 fine. Rahman's sentence was significantly lower than the 9 years the government requested in a briefing last month — a sentence prosecutors said was warranted by the harm he 'could have' caused and ill will demonstrated by a list of relatively routine phone apps. Defense lawyers responded that the request violated the spirit if not the letter of Rahman's plea agreement and that bumping the prison term so far beyond sentencing guidelines despite his cooperation was 'unprecedented.' In the end, the defense prevailed, and Giles's sentence ended up below the statutory guideline. The sentencing capped a relatively short and secretive legal process that began with Rahman's arrest last November in Cambodia, where he was posted with the CIA. A month earlier, the government analyses of Israel's preparations for a strike on Iran were made public on social media. Prosecutors have said that those disclosures may have briefly delayed the Israeli strike that took place later that month. Much remains publicly unknown about Rahman's disclosures, including how many other documents he leaked and who he leaked them to. Prosecutors said the disclosures spanned multiple months. Giles hinted, however, that the other documents Rahman leaked contained highly sensitive information. 'What is on the public record is small to me,' she said. Still-classified records that are unknown to the public, she said, 'shows how serious this conduct is, how dangerous it is, how reckless.' In a reflection of the top-secret nature of the documents Rahman disclosed last year, the courtroom remained sealed to the public for much of the four-hour sentencing hearing. A federal prosecutor said Wednesday that it had backed off the high end of that recommendation, without publicly disclosing the government's new request. In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards acknowledged that prosecutors had not charged Rahman with a separate offense that would have required them to show actual harm. While acknowledging that the judge had a 'complicated' decision to make, he said she should hand down a sentence that would deter future leakers. 'When you take an oath to serve this country it means something,' Edwards said, 'and it has to mean something.' Giles said she had completely discarded the inflammatory allegation in a declaration from a high-level political appointee at the CIA, Michael Ellis, that Rahman had caused 'exceptionally grave' damage to national security. Defense lawyers had cried foul over that declaration, which they said was not backed up by any evidence, and over a directive — which they said came from top Justice Department officials — to seek a sentence close to the 10-year maximum despite Rahman's extensive cooperation. They asked the judge to hand Rahman a 13-month sentence, but they and a large group of family members and supporters appeared to be satisfied with a prison term below the statutory guideline of roughly 5 to 6 years. Several family members exchanged hugs with Rahman's defense lawyers after the hearing. Lawyer Amy Jeffress told the Intercept she did not expect to appeal the sentence. In public court filings, the defense gave only vague explanations of the political motivations for the leaks, saying that Rahman acted out of a 'misguided' belief that he could advance the cause of peace. The former analyst himself addressed the judge in a brief courtroom statement where he apologized to his former colleagues at the CIA and said he constantly frets that his disclosures could have endangered servicemembers in the Middle East. 'There is no excuse for my actions. I constantly reflect on the trust that I violated,' he said. 'It was an honor and a privilege to work at the CIA.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
ICE at Franklin Elementary? Vancouver school district says rumors aren't true
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Social media posts are claiming ICE officials were spotted at Franklin Elementary School in Vancouver early this week, but district leaders say these rumors aren't true. Vancouver Public Schools sent a letter to families Monday morning to address these concerns. Anti-ICE protests escalate outside South Portland facility 'Some of the posts inaccurately claim ICE activity occurred at Franklin Elementary during the morning drop-off. We are writing to let you know that any ICE activity that may have occurred in the Franklin neighborhood did not take place on our school grounds,' the letter said. District officials said they checked the elementary school's security footage and found no activity from ICE on the campus. 'Should ICE activity occur on school grounds in the future, please know we would message our community for your awareness as we do almost every time law enforcement or first responders are unexpectedly at school,' the school said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
330 immigrants detained in L.A. since Friday, White House spokesperson says
Immigration agents have arrested 330 immigrants in Los Angeles since Friday, the White House confirmed Wednesday. The numbers came from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who also slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, saying they — President Trump — "fanned the flames" of violence in Los Angeles. During a press briefing, Leavitt said 157 people have also been arrested on assault and obstruction-related charges. That includes a man charged Wednesday with the attempted murder of a police officer for throwing a Molotov cocktail. Overall, Leavitt said that 113, or about a third, of those detained had prior criminal convictions. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have touted the arrests of specific individuals in recent days, including people from Vietnam, Mexico and the Philippines who had previously been convicted of crimes, such as second-degree murder, rape and child molestation. Leavitt condemned the protests in Los Angeles against raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These attacks were aimed not just at law enforcement, but at American culture and society itself," she said. "Rioters burned American flags, chanted death to ICE and spray-painted anti-American slogans on buildings." Echoing sentiments Trump has relayed in recent days, Leavitt criticized Newsom and Bass, branding them as radical Democrats. Bass, she said, "embarked on one of the most outrageous campaigns of lies this country has ever seen from an elected official, blaming President Trump and brave law enforcement officers for the violence." "The mob violence is being stomped out," she said. "Criminals responsible will be swiftly brought to justice, and the Trump administration's operations to arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated." But Trump's top border policy advisor, Tom Homan, told NBC on Tuesday that the protests in Los Angeles are making immigration enforcement "difficult" and more "dangerous." Leavitt issued a stark warning to protesters in other cities. "Let this be an unequivocal message to left-wing radicals in other parts of the country who are thinking about copycatting the violence in an effort to stop this administration's mass deportation efforts: You will not succeed," she said. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
