A nurse who allegedly said she wouldn’t treat Israeli patients is now facing multiple federal charges in Australia.
Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, was detained Tuesday after she made the comments in a video posted online earlier this month, according to the Associated Press.
Abu Lebdeh and another nurse, Ahmed Rashid Nadir, were suspended from Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital near Sydney on Feb. 12. Abu Lebdeh said in a video the night before that she wouldn’t treat Israeli patients while Nadir suggested he had killed Israelis, the AP reported.
However, the hospital examined patient records and found no evidence that the nurses had harmed patients.
The video posted online was described as “antisemitic” by the New South Wales Police Force.
They added that it was “filmed at Bankstown Hospital and circulated widely on social media.”
Abu Lebdeh was charged with the federal offenses of threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend, police said.
The charges carried a potential maximum penalty of 22 years in prison.
Abu Lebdeh has been released on bail and is expected to appear in court on March 19.
“We commend Australian authorities for charging Sydney nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh for her violent, antisemitic threats against Israeli patients. There is no place for violence or antisemitism in any society – especially in the medical field,” the Anti-Defamation League said Wednesday. “With the surge in attacks against the Australian Jewish community, it is imperative law enforcement continue working to ensure that those spreading hate and targeting the Jewish community are held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
In the video, a man and woman, who said they were doctors, spoke with another individual via Chatrouletka, a website where strangers are matched internationally to have conversations.
After the Israeli man revealed his nationality, the female worker said “it’s Palestine’s country, not your country you piece of s—,” according to the video.
As the Israeli man asked for peace, the conversation escalated, and the woman said “when the time comes, I want you to remember my face, so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death.”
The pair went on to say they would not treat the man and would kill him if he came to their hospital.
The man in scrubs said “you have no idea how many Israelis came to this hospital and…,” while sliding his arm across his neck in a throat-slashing motion.
