Political badges to be removed from hospitals

Victoria’s Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has directed healthcare facilities across the state to remove anti-Israel and pro-Palestine badges and markings.

Ms Thomas declared that political displays in hospitals are “unacceptable” and “will not be tolerated.”

The ministerial directive follows revelations of anti-Israel stickers being placed on hospital walls and staff wearing pro-Palestine badges on their lanyards.

“Quite frankly, our hospitals are not the place for any political badges, flags or anything that makes patients in any way feel unsafe,” Ms Thomas said.

Opposition health spokesperson Georgie Crozier has warned that enforcing the ban could prove challenging, questioning how the directive will be implemented.

“The minister has directed healthcare facilities to ban these antisemitic symbols and other badges and paraphernalia… but words are one thing and actions are another,” Ms Crozier told the AJN.

She said while healthcare workers must follow professional codes of conduct, the minister needs to clarify how the ban will be enforced across different healthcare professions.

“We’ve got nurses, midwives, doctors, a whole range of healthcare workers engaging in this political activism, but somebody’s got to enforce it,” she said.

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) said Jewish Victorians are becoming hesitant to attend public hospitals due to fears of vilification, discrimination, or mistreatment.

In an open letter to the Health Minister, the JCCV expressed concerns about divisive material being displayed in hospital buildings and politically charged slogans on hospital uniforms.

Crozier had earlier raised the issue in the Upper House of Victoria’s State Parliament, citing multiple instances of concerning behaviour across Melbourne’s major hospitals.

These included inflammatory anti-Israel stickers at the Alfred Hospital, staff wearing keffiyehs at Monash Children’s Hospital, and anti-Israel pamphlets being distributed at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

The JCCV has also highlighted concerns about healthcare unions’ involvement, noting they have “repeatedly platformed divisive motions and votes on the Middle East conflict that have nothing to do with the local membership.”

Melbourne forensic psychiatrist Jacqueline Rakov has described a pattern of Jewish medical professionals being silenced on social media when responding to pro-Palestinian posts or expressing concerns about antisemitism.

“We get told what is and what is not antisemitism. We get told what is reasonable and unreasonable criticism. We even get censored,” Dr Rakov told the AJN.

She recalled a recent incident where Jewish doctors were asked to reduce their comments about feeling afraid and vilified, describing the request as effectively saying “Shut up Jews.”

Dr Rakov has complained about one junior Doctor who was photographed entering a Melbourne hospital wearing a keffiyeh, saying healthcare services should remain apolitical.

“Healthcare service shouldn’t be politicised at all, because if you go down that path, there lies disaster. Hospitals should be apolitical spaces, instead of places where pitched ideological battles are occurring” she said.

Rakov believes that would undermine people’s faith in the system.