Nurses who threatened to kill Jewish patients committed for trial

Two dismissed nurses who allegedly made violent antisemitic threats during an online video chat with a Jewish social media personality appeared in a Sydney court on Tuesday, with both moving closer to District Court trials.

Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, faced Downing Centre Local Court, maintaining her not guilty pleas to charges of threatening violence to a group and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Her former colleague Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 28, also appeared on a single charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. He has yet to enter a plea and is scheduled to return to court on December 16.

The charges stem from a February 2025 video chat that sparked national outrage. The pair, then working a night shift at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney’s south-west, connected randomly with Israeli influencer Max Veifer on Chatruletka, a platform that pairs strangers for video conversations. Once they learnt Veifer was Israeli, their tone turned hostile.

In footage that quickly went viral, Abu Lebdeh allegedly declared she would refuse to treat Israeli patients, saying instead, “I won’t treat them; I will kill them.” She told Veifer, “One day, your time will come and you will die the most horrible death,” adding, “It’s Palestine’s country, not your country, you piece of shit.”

Nadir, wearing medical scrubs and initially claiming to be a doctor, reportedly told Veifer, “I’m so upset that you’re Israeli… eventually you’re going to get killed and go to Jahannam” – the Arabic term for hell. He allegedly made a throat-slitting gesture while saying, “You have no idea how many Israeli dogs came to this hospital,” claiming he sent them “to Jahannam.”

Veifer, who has over 100,000 followers on the platform, shared the video online in February, triggering immediate consequences. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park responded forcefully: “They’re not welcome in our hospitals. Don’t bother turning up to work tomorrow.” The nurses were suspended from Bankstown Hospital within hours.

Since then, both have had their nursing registrations suspended in NSW and face a nationwide ban from working as nurses imposed by Australia’s health practitioner watchdog. They’ve also been barred from working with National Disability Insurance Scheme participants for two years.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Abu Lebdeh was surrounded by supporters and left court without comment. Prosecutors had previously withdrawn a third charge against her, using a carriage service to threaten to kill. Her trial is expected to proceed in late 2026 or early 2027.

Nadir’s lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, sought and received an adjournment. If Nadir doesn’t enter a plea at his next appearance on December 16, the court indicated he would be committed to District Court for trial. He previously apologised through his lawyer, calling the comments “a big mistake” and claiming they were meant as a joke, though this explanation was widely rejected. Nadir, who fled Afghanistan at age seven and arrived in Australia five years later, became an Australian citizen in 2020.

The case attracted condemnation from Australia’s highest political levels. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the footage “disgusting”, “vile”, and “driven by hate”. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb praised detectives for their work despite complications, including an overseas witness, emphasising the seriousness with which authorities treated the matter.

Authorities have confirmed no evidence exists that either nurse actually harmed patients, though the investigation examined whether harm had occurred. The alleged offences rest on the nurses’ stated intentions and threats.

The incident unfolded against a backdrop of rising antisemitism in Australia. In February 2025, parliament passed tougher hate crime laws following multiple incidents, including arson attacks on synagogues and cars in Melbourne and Sydney and antisemitic graffiti in Jewish neighbourhoods.

Both Abu Lebdeh and Nadir remain on bail with strict conditions as their cases proceed to trial. Neither is employed in healthcare.