We thought we had seen it all

After 16 months of rampant domestic antisemitism, we thought we’d seen it all. Yet last week’s video of two nurses at Bankstown Hospital brazenly bragging about killing Israeli patients sent chills down the spine of even the most desensitised member of our community.

The sight of nurses – trained healthcare professionals – boasting about breaching their oath to care for all in need, regardless of race or religion, was shocking. Their comments, expressed without compunction or reservation, cut through the public consciousness and represented a depraved and shocking new low in the crisis of antisemitism which currently engulfs us.

For our community, whilst we welcomed the swift decision to stand the nurses down and prevent them from ever working as nurses again, the video gave rise to additional questions. For instance, how many other healthcare professionals harbour the same views? Is it safe to disclose that we’re Jewish when we’re admitted to hospitals? Which other institutions across society are similarly compromised and pose a risk to our community?

Some of these questions will be answered in the near term through the investigation which NSW Health is currently undertaking whilst others may prove more difficult.

The day after the video emerged, I toured Bankstown Hospital with Health Minister Ryan Park and secretary of the Health Department Susan Peace. I discussed measures the government could take to make sure that all health facilities in NSW are physically and culturally safe for Jewish staff and patients.

I also made our expectation clear that processes should be in place to ensure that no other employee of NSW Health who harbours antisemitic views is able to harm Jewish or Israeli patients. Even if we cannot see into the heart of another person, appropriate checks and balances should be put in place to protect Jewish patients and staff as well as ensuring that our hospitals do not become political battlegrounds.

In NSW, we are blessed to have a government and opposition that are both steadfast in their support for our community, and their incredibly swift response to this incident is evidence of that.

Reflecting on this latest odious episode of antisemitism, I am struck by two observations.

First, one of the most sinister elements of antisemitism throughout the ages is the willingness to blame Jews for their own persecution. In every generation, antisemites have sought to explain, justify or downplay the mistreatment of Jews on the basis that we’ve done something to merit our oppression.

It has only taken a few days but the obfuscation and equivocating has already begun. Whilst some have obscenely questioned if this was antisemitism, others have conceded this fact but have begun trying to explain away the nurses’ comments and invert who the victims are in this situation. This wouldn’t be tolerated if it was directed at any other group.

Sadly, as Jews have always had to do, we need to remind ourselves of the salient reality that our community has done absolutely nothing to warrant the level of hatred directed against us. We are hard-working, peaceful and loyal citizens who have been besieged by bigots driven by unbridled hate. The issue is with those who have hatred in their heart and not the hated.

Second, one of the key lessons of Jewish history is when someone wishes ill on Jews or says that they are going to inflict violence on Jews – believe them. Chants, slogans or hate speech are not meaningless. Threatening antisemitic chants are not just idle political expression. They are a forerunner of sinister events to come.

We have 2000 years of evidence and precedent to rely upon. Violence against the Jews begins with threatening rhetoric. When activists on our streets or university campuses scream “globalise the intifada” – we end up with daycares and synagogues being firebombed and Jewish patients being harmed in hospitals.

With this in mind, we welcome the bill introduced into NSW Parliament this week which will give law enforcement agencies the legal basis to criminally pursue those who incite hatred on the basis of race. We know that individuals do not commit crimes motivated by hate in a vacuum and this reform will target hateful rhetoric before it leads to hateful acts of violence.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has engaged tirelessly with the government, opposition and crossbench in recent times to push for necessary reforms to protect our community, with bills currently before the Parliament which would protect synagogues, increase penalties for hate crimes and deal with the hate marches in our streets.

It is a sad reality that these measures are required but a reflection of the challenging times in which we find ourselves. Whilst the injustice of Jewish history has finally caught up to us here in Australia, the resilience and strength of our community has not dimmed and together we will ride the wave of this turbulent period.

David Ossip is the president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.