A sweeping investigation by The Australian has detailed a series of allegations that antisemitism has intensified across Australia’s health care system since October 7, prompting some Jewish patients to conceal their identity when seeking medical treatment.
The report includes testimony from patients and medical professionals who allege that Jewish patients were, in some cases, deliberately mistreated while receiving care. The claims include repeated and painful attempts to insert intravenous lines, failure to provide pain relief to women after childbirth and offensive remarks by medical staff.
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As a result, the investigation found that many Jews are afraid to seek care at hospitals and clinics, while those who do often conceal their Jewish identity out of concern that it could affect the way they are treated.
Based on interviews with more than 30 doctors, nurses, midwives and other health care professionals, the report describes alleged discrimination, harassment and hostility directed at Jewish patients and staff, along with antisemitic comments by medical workers.
Among the cases cited is that of Charlotte Frajman, the daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, who said a Muslim nurse at a Melbourne hospital attempted to insert an IV four times after noticing that her religion was listed as Jewish. Freiman said she suffered severe pain and extensive bruising, and alleged that similar incidents occurred during later hospital visits.
Another Israeli patient, Orit Brand, said a nurse made eight unsuccessful attempts to insert an IV. She said the line was placed immediately and painlessly once other staff members took over.
The report noted that it could not prove deliberate mistreatment in either case. Medical staff quoted in the investigation, however, said hospital protocols limiting the number of IV insertion attempts by the same practitioner had allegedly been breached.
Midwife Sharon Stoliar described another case involving a Jewish woman who, she said, was left without pain medication for hours after a C-section. According to the account, the woman lay in a pool of blood while her baby cried beside her, and when a nurse eventually attended to her, she allegedly did so harshly and without compassion.
Another Jewish patient, who was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Adelaide, said a nurse made comments in her presence denying both the Holocaust and the October 7 massacre.
The investigation also found that Jewish doctors and medical students had allegedly been ostracized and verbally abused. Some reportedly chose not to file complaints because they feared damaging their careers, while others requested anonymity over concerns for their personal safety or professional future.
The report also describes extensive political activism by pro-Palestinian groups of doctors and nurses, including a campaign that contributed to the cancellation of an international trauma conference in Perth. Dr Elon Glassberg, a former chief medical officer of the IDF, had been scheduled to lecture at the conference on lifesaving treatment for gunshot and blast injuries.
Trauma experts quoted in the report said the cancellation deprived Australian medical teams of an opportunity to learn techniques that could save lives during mass-casualty incidents.
According to the investigation, pro-Palestinian activism has also become increasingly visible inside hospitals. Staff members allegedly wore political symbols, attended anti-Israel demonstrations, distributed stickers bearing the slogan “From the river to the sea” and shared social media posts containing antisemitic material, comparisons between the war in Gaza and the Holocaust and expressions of support for terrorist organizations.
The report further alleges that Jewish or pro-Israel medical professionals who challenged claims of genocide or shared information about Hamas’ use of hospitals in Gaza were subjected to disciplinary proceedings.
By contrast, some complaints against medical workers who published pro-Hamas or antisemitic material were allegedly said to have been closed without significant action.
The investigation criticized the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, known as AHPRA, with interviewees alleging that it had failed to respond decisively to antisemitism within the medical profession.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Sydney in February
(Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP)
The report’s author, Megan Goldin, concluded with the account of Dr. Carly Debinski, a pediatrician who moved from Australia to Israel after feeling that the atmosphere had become increasingly hostile toward Jews. Debinski now works at Sheba Medical Center, where, she said, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and Arab medical teams work together and treat children from all communities, including children from Gaza.
The investigation was published against the backdrop of an ongoing legal case involving two employees at Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital, Ahmad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh. The pair were recorded saying they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and making threats against them during a video call with Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer.
In the video, Abu Lebdeh said she would kill an Israeli patient if one arrived for treatment, while Nadir claimed he had already sent many Israelis “to hell” while working at the hospital.
The footage triggered widespread public outrage. In June 2026, however, an Australian court ruled that the recording was inadmissible and could not be used as evidence because it had been obtained in violation of local surveillance laws. Australia’s attorney general subsequently took the unusual step of appealing the decision.