A comprehensive investigation published in The Australian magazine presents a series of troubling testimonies regarding antisemitism in the Australian healthcare system since the October 7, 2023, attack.
As part of the investigation, more than 30 doctors, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals were interviewed. They claimed that the atmosphere toward Jews within the healthcare system had deteriorated to an unprecedented level, to the point of harming patient safety and even potentially endangering lives.
One of the most prominent examples cited in the investigation was the cancellation of a trauma medicine conference that was scheduled to take place in Perth. The conference was set to feature Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Alon Glazberg, a former Chief Medical Officer of the IDF, who was due to present Israeli-developed methods for treating victims of gunshot wounds and blast injuries.
After groups of pro-Palestinian doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers threatened to hold protests against his participation, the organizers decided to cancel the conference.
Trauma specialists interviewed for the investigation argued that the cancellation prevented Australian medical teams from learning lifesaving techniques from someone with extensive experience treating mass-casualty events. One of them said that the knowledge that was supposed to be presented could have helped prepare medical personnel for dealing with severe incidents, including the Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney.
According to the testimonies, since October 7, anti-Israel political activity within the healthcare system has expanded. The interviewees claimed that it went beyond political expression and became antisemitism directed at Jews. They said that hospitals and clinics have, in some cases, become arenas for ideological battles, undermining the fundamental principle that the welfare of the patient must come before any other consideration.
At the same time, a dispute is taking place in Australia over the decision by the healthcare professions regulator to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. More than 1,400 healthcare workers signed an open letter opposing the move, citing, among other reasons, their objection to clauses concerning denying Israel’s right to exist and applying different standards to it compared with other countries.
Doctors and nurses interviewed for the investigation claimed that in recent years their professional status has been used to spread antisemitic messages, Hamas propaganda, and even expressions of support for the terrorist organization.
According to their accounts, employees arrived at hospitals wearing protest symbols, and anti-Israel stickers were placed in several institutions. At Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, it was alleged that such stickers were placed near the bed of an elderly Jewish patient in the hours before his death.
The investigation also found, according to the report, social media posts by doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers containing hateful rhetoric, Holocaust comparisons, antisemitic content, and support for terrorist organizations. A Jewish doctor said that colleagues had shared Nazi symbols and caricatures of Jews while replacing the word “Jews" with the word “Zionists."
The most serious testimonies concerned medical treatment itself. Several Jewish patients said they experienced repeated and painful attempts to insert IV lines that, they claimed, deviated from accepted procedures. In the two cases presented in the investigation, it was alleged that the same staff member made four insertion attempts, despite hospital nurses stating that the protocol allows a maximum of two attempts by the same practitioner.
The authors of the investigation noted that it is difficult to prove deliberate intent, but emphasized that the complaint appeared in multiple independent testimonies.
Another testimony came from a midwife, who described a Jewish woman in labor who, according to her account, was left for hours after a cesarean section while in pain, without pain medication, lying in a pool of blood beside her crying newborn. She claimed that when a nurse eventually entered the room, the nurse displayed a cold and lacking-compassion attitude toward the patient.
Another patient said that during her stay in an intensive care unit, a nurse gave her a “lecture" in which the Holocaust and the events of October 7 were denied. Jewish medical students and resident doctors also testified about social exclusion, verbal attacks, and fears of filing complaints because it could harm their professional advancement.
In contrast, Jewish doctors, nurses, and pro-Israel healthcare workers said that coordinated complaints were filed against them after they expressed support for Israel or shared information contradicting claims that Israel was committing genocide. Some of them even received warnings from the regulatory authority.
According to the interviewees, Jewish employees in the healthcare system found themselves isolated, attacked, or excluded because of their identity. Some said they chose to leave their jobs after claiming that hospital administrations failed to address complaints they had submitted regarding incitement and antisemitism by colleagues.
According to data from the regulatory authority, between July 2023 and the end of February this year, 124 complaints related to antisemitism were received, alongside 97 complaints related to Islamophobia.
The investigation concludes with the testimony of a Jewish pediatrician who left Australia and moved to work in Israel, saying that the atmosphere in the country had become unbearable for Jews. She said that at the hospital where she now works, Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze doctors and nurses treat every patient together regardless of identity, emphasizing that the welfare of the patient must remain the highest principle of any healthcare system.