Gaza medical wish list found
The Victorian branch of the Australasian Jewish Medical Federation (AJMF) expressed its deep concern in a letter to hospital CEO Bernadette McDonald.
A document in Arabic containing a $7.7 million wish list of medicines and equipment for Gaza discovered at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) is causing concern for Jewish medical practitioners and allied health staff.
Found in a secure operating theatre area off limits to the public, the document lists supplies needed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which in Gaza is run by the terror group Hamas.
The Victorian branch of the Australasian Jewish Medical Federation (AJMF) expressed its deep concern in a letter to hospital CEO Bernadette McDonald.
AJMF president Dr Jack Green wrote that the “shopping list” may be linked to fundraising activities by Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation in Australia.
“Our members have raised concerns about their wellbeing and safety within healthcare settings since the October 7 atrocities and kidnapping of Israeli citizens, and ensuing Gaza/Israel war. Attempts to politicise hospital workplaces and provocative, divisive social media posts by medical professionals have also been of concern,” he wrote.
He said some of his organisation’s members feel uncomfortable and need to hide that they are Jewish at work.
“I have had Jewish staff at RCH contact me to say that they are concerned that patient care could suffer if political activism around the war in Gaza continues. Doctors need to trust other doctors, and patients need to have confidence they will get the best medical care regardless of their personal identity,” he said.
The AJMF is calling for mandatory staff cultural sensitivity training, specifically referencing antisemitism, to strengthen the hospital’s commitment to a safe and inclusive environment.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim told The Australian the existence of the document raised serious questions about why it was inside the RCH.
“The poison of Hamas’s propaganda and influence has seeped into almost every sector of Western society. Even the sanctity of a surgical theatre at a children’s hospital has been violated,” he said.
“We are entitled to answers.”
In a statement, the hospital said an internal investigation into the document is ongoing, and that it has not and will not be donating any medical supplies to the conflict in the Middle East.
“There are established agencies who deliver medical aid to areas of conflict and it’s important we leave this responsibility with them,” it said.
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