Two Sydney nurses who threatened Israeli patients in a viral video in 2025 pled 'not guilty' in their arraignment on Monday.
In February 2025, Bankstown Hospital nurses Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, and Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 28, went viral online after they were recorded telling Israeli English teacher and social-media influencer Max Veifer they would harm Israeli patients.
“You have no idea how many Israeli s**t dogs have come to this hospital, and I sent them to hell," Nadir told Veifer.
Abu Lebdeh said, “I won’t treat them, I’ll kill them."
The New South Wales Police Force’s antisemitism task force quickly launched an investigation, and the two subsequently stood down from their jobs at NSW Health. They have also been suspended for two years.
Appearing before Downing Centre District Court on Monday, both Nadir and Aby Lebdeh pled 'not guilty' before the judge when asked to respond to charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and threaten violence to a group.
The trial date is set for August 31.
Legal defense strategy
However, the legal defense team is set to argue that the video is inadmissible as evidence.
“We will have to just wait until June 1 when the applications are heard,” Nadir's defense lawyer Zemarai Khatiz told reporters.
Nadir was asked by the press whether he was sorry for what he said, to which he responded with no comment.
The public outrage in response to the video led to remarks from senior Australian officials, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park. Israeli officials also weighed in, demanding an immediate investigation into the matter.
Australian Jewish groups also expressed concerns about the safety of community members, seeing the rhetoric and threats as a symptom of a broader antisemitic campaign against the country’s Jewry.