Prominent Muslim groups claim reaction to Sydney nurses video is ‘selective outrage’

A coalition of prominent Muslim organisations in Australia has accused political leaders and media outlets of engaging in “selective outrage” over a controversial video of two nurses saying they would kill Israeli patients at a New South Wales hospital.

The group also strongly condemned what they referred to as “active diplomatic and journalistic cover for ongoing crimes by the Zionists” in Israel.

The video, posted by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, shows nurse Ahmad Rashad Nadir claiming that he had sent Israeli patients to “Jahannam” (hell), while nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh, when asked by Veifer what she would do if an Israeli patient attended the hospital, replied, “I won’t treat them, I will kill them.”

The video sparked widespread condemnation, including from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who labelled the footage “sickening and shameful.” The two nurses have since been stood down, and New South Wales police have launched an investigation.

The coalition of Muslim organisations, including Muslim Votes and Muslim Votes Matter, argued that the “speed, intensity, and uniformity” of responses to the video were “revealing.”

They stressed that the same voices condemning the nurses' remarks had previously provided “active diplomatic and journalistic cover” for Israel's actions, particularly in Gaza.

The group emphasised that their statement was not meant to defend the nurses' inappropriate remarks, but to push back against what they view as double standards in the way the situation was handled.

They said the outcry over the nurses' statements contrasted sharply with the silence or complicity surrounding the “mass killing of our brothers and sisters in Gaza.”

Mainstream Muslim organisations, such as the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and the Islamic Councils of Victoria and Western Australia, along with more controversial groups like Hizb Ut-Tahrir Australia and the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown, have supported this position.

While these groups expressed frustration with Israel’s policies, they emphasised that their opposition is not an expression of hatred toward Jewish people but rather a response to what they see as “violent and inhumane” actions by the Israeli state.

They also condemned the “weaponisation” of accusations of antisemitism to silence criticism of Israel, arguing that such claims are often used to shut down discussions about Israeli policies in Gaza.

This issue also reignited the debate surrounding antisemitism in Australia, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (Australia’s board of deputies) filing a case in the Federal Court against Wissam Haddad, founder of the Al Madina Dawah Centre, over alleged antisemitic speeches.

The ECAJ accused Haddad of making “derogatory generalisations about the Jewish people,” including calling them “vile” and “treacherous.”

Haddad, however, defended his remarks, stating that they were made for religious and educational purposes.

Former Labour senator Fatima Payman, who left the party last year over its stance on Gaza, also joined the debate.

Payman acknowledged that the nurses' comments were “wrong” and that “no one should ever be denied medical care based on their race, religion, or nationality.”

However, Payman claimed there was not “the same level of anger and vitriol when the roles are reversed”.