Latest news with #Lebdeh
Sky News AU
12-05-2025
- Sky News AU
Legal cases of former Bankstown, Sydney nurses charged over antisemitic video return to court
Two former Sydney nurses facing charges over an antisemitic video will have their legal cases return to court on Tuesday. Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 27, and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, were stood down from their jobs at Bankstown Hospital on February 12 after a video emerged of the pair allegedly making threats against Israeli patients. The pair, who are both on conditional bail, are excused from appearing in person when their cases are briefly mentioned in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court from 9.30am. The video, which went viral in February, showed Mr Nadir and Ms Lebdeh wearing nursing uniforms as they spoke to Jewish content creator Max Veifer through an online chat room called Chatruletka, which randomly connects users. In the clip, Ms Lebedh allegedly bragged about refusing to treat Israeli patients at the hospital and threatened to kill them. Mr Nadir allegedly said he had sent Israeli patients to 'Jahannam', which means hell in Arabic. The video was widely circulated online after it was shared to social media by Mr Veifer, sparking an investigation by health authorities and police. On February 25, Ms Lebdeh was arrested and charged with three Commonwealth offences including 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 was arrested on March 4 and charged with a Commonwealth offence of using a carriage service to menace, harass, offend or threaten. He was also charged with possessing a prohibited drug, which was allegedly found inside his locker at Bankstown Hospital. Dramatic scenes unfolded outside Sydney's Downing Centre in March when the two former nurses appeared in court for the first time since their arrests. Mr Nadir's lawyer Zemarai Khatiz said his client will challenge the charges against him on the grounds of the video being taken without his consent. "My client will be pleading not guilty to the charges. He will be defending the matter on legal and technical grounds," Mr Khatiz told reporters. "The video that was captured and recorded, was done without the consent of my client, without his knowledge. And we'll argue for that to be excluded." Meanwhile, Ms Lebdeh was rushed out of the courthouse while being shielded by an entourage of men in black hoodies before she was whisked away in a waiting black car. Mr Nadir has previously apologised for his remarks in the video through a legal representative who said the former nurse does not 'protect what he has done or hide from it'. A family member of Ms Lebdeh, who identified himself as her uncle, previously told the media she was sorry for her comments. "She will come out and make a statement when she's ready, but you can't talk to her now because she's having a panic attack, an anxiety attack," he told The Australian at the time. On February 13, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales had suspended Mr Nadir and Ms Lebdeh's nursing registrations. This means they are currently banned from practising nursing anywhere in Australia.
The Independent
26-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Sydney nurse who threatened to ‘kill Israeli patients' charged by police
A New South Wales nurse, suspended over a social media video in which she allegedly said she would refuse to treat and kill Israeli patients, has been charged by the police. Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, was charged with three commonwealth offences of threatening violence to a group, using carriage service to threaten to kill and using carriage service to menace/harass/offend. Ms Lebdeh, who worked at the Bankstown-Lidcombe hospital in Sydney 's southwest, was arrested on Tuesday night. Earlier, a video had surfaced in which she and colleague Ahmed Rashid Nadir allegedly made inflammatory remarks. The nurses, wearing their uniforms, engaged in a conversation on video chat platform Chatruletka with Jewish content creator Max Veifer. In the footage, seemingly filmed inside the hospital and shared by Mr Veifer, Ms Lebdeh and Mr Nadir allegedly boasted about denying treatment to Israeli patients, killing them, and 'condemning them to hell'. Both Ms Lebdeh and Mr Nadir were suspended pending an investigation. Mr Nadir, who is undergoing medical treatment, has not been charged but remains under investigation, according to NSW Police. Ms Lebdeh, a Condell Park resident, was granted conditional bail and is set to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 19 March. Authorities have found no evidence that patients were harmed, but NSW Health is continuing its investigation. Earlier, it was reported that Mr Veifer had provided police with the video showing the two Sydney nurses allegedly boasting about killing Israeli patients. Officers from Strike Force Pearl were in contact with Mr Veifer, who was cooperating with the investigation, local media said. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the case was 'not straight forward' while health minister Ryan Park stated there was no indication patients were adversely affected. 'Given the nature of this offending, where we had two people here in NSW and the recording made overseas. It's been a complex investigation given the nature of, we're talking across borders,' Ms Webb said. '[There] has been a lot of work by investigators and support from overseas jurisdictions to get the statement from the influencer and have it converted to English and have it admissible in court.' "She is on very, very strict bail conditions, namely prohibiting her from going to a point of departure from Australia, but more importantly, banned from using social media," Commissioner Webb said. The footage had earlier sparked public outcry and condemnation from officials, including prime minister Anthony Albanese who called it 'vile' and 'disgusting'. Mr Nadir previously told reporters the incident was a 'big mistake', calling the remarks a joke that went too far and apologising for any offence caused. Australia has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents, including an alleged bomb plot and arson attacks on synagogues. Advocacy groups report an increase in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, triggering the war in Gaza.
Fox News
14-02-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Nurses suspended after viral video threatening to kill Israeli man: Australia Health Department
Two Sydney nurses who threatened on camera to kill an Israeli man and other Jewish people in their care were identified and immediately suspended from practicing. The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care announced in a statement on Thursday that the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales (NSW) suspended the registrations of registered nurses Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh, effective immediately. Nadir and Lebdeh, who initially claimed they were doctors while donning scrubs, threatened Israeli influencer Max Veifer on an international video chat website called Chatrouletka. After asking Veifer about his nationality, Lebdeh said "it's Palentine's country, not your country you piece of s---," according to the video. She proceeded to tell Veifer "when the time comes, I want you to remember my face, so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death." Nadir chimed in and they both said they would not treat Veifer and would kill him if he came to their hospital. "You have no idea how many Israelis came to this hospital and…," Nadir said, while sliding his arm across his neck in a throat-slashing motion. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency automatically updated their record on the public register of practitioners, making the two Bankstown Hospital nurses unable to practice nursing anywhere in Australia, in any context. "The idea that you would single out a particular group in our community and indicate you wouldn't care for them, let alone actively threaten their lives, runs against every single principle in our health care system," the health department wrote in the statement. Officials said "their sickening comments – and the hatred that underpins them – have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia." The department added Australians have a right to feel safe wherever they go and "nowhere should be safer" than a hospital. "Health workers have a solemn duty to treat and heal everyone who comes before them needing help," according to the statement. "The overwhelming majority hold to that oath." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Tuesday the pair were "rightly" referred to the NSW Police for criminal investigation. "Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws," Albanese wrote in a post on X. "The footage is sickening and shameful." On Wednesday, Australia enacted a hate crimes bill imposing minimum mandatory penalties for certain hate-related crimes, including six years for terrorist offenses, three years for financing terrorism and one year for displaying hate symbols. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park claimed there was "no evidence" the nurses harmed patients in their care, but the investigation is ongoing. Lebdeh's family members spoke to various news outlets claiming she was "baited" and that she was "sorry," the New York Post reported. Israel's biggest newspaper, Israel Hayom, seemingly responded to the remarks with a story titled, "Sorry, not sorry," and accused the two nurses of minimizing the incident, according to the report. Sharren Haskel, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the state of Israel, posted on X, commending Australian officials for their response, and calling the pair "racist." "Thank you, @ChrisMinnsMP for your swift and decisive action against the racist nurses who threatened to kill Jews. Your dedication and efforts in combating antisemitism over the past month are commendable, and we deeply appreciate your commitment to protecting the Jewish community of New South Wales." Haskel added there must be "zero tolerance" for racism and antisemitism and noted threats must be met with "the full force of the law." A synagogue was firebombed in Melbourne on Dec. 6, which authorities are now investigating as a likely terrorist attack. Other reports indicate cars have been set aflame and buildings have been vandalized in Sydney Jewish communities.
