Midwife’s chilling warning about NSW nurses 15 months before the anti-Semitic firestorm – but health bosses threatened to sack HER

EXCLUSIVE 

A Sydney midwife has revealed how she almost lost her job when she sounded the alarm on anti-Semitism among NSW Health nurses long before the latest row erupted.

Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh have gone into hiding as police wait to grill them over a video where they claimed to have killed Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney’s west.

The two nurses were immediately stood down by NSW Health when footage of the clip was published on social media by Israeli influencer Max Veifer on Wednesday.

Now midwife and nurse, Sharon Stoliar, has claimed she warned hospital bosses about medical staff using hate speech about Jewish people in 2023.

She says she filed complaints about her co-workers after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people and triggered the Gaza war which has cost almost 50,000 lives. 

In November hundreds of nurses, midwives and health workers staged protests across Australia calling for a ceasefire while chanting: ‘From the river to the sea.’

The phrase has also been used publicly by Hamas leaders and has been condemned by political leaders for demanding Israel and Jewish people are driven out the region. 

But Ms Stoliar claims that she ended up being targeted by officials after sounding the warning and had to hire lawyers to fight for her to keep her job.

A Sydney midwife has revealed how she almost lost her job when she warned of antisemitism among NSW Health nurses before the latest row involving Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh (pictured) 

In November 2023 hundreds of medical professionals across Australia joined protests to free Palestine 

Sharon Stoliar made official complaints about medical staff making threats to Jews in 2023 and warned staff not to take part in the River to the Sea chant in a social media post or face being reported

‘I raised the alarm not long after October 7 happened, when nurses and midwives were chanting ‘From the river to the sea’ while wearing NSW health uniforms,’ she said in a video posted to Instagram.

‘I wrote an open letter to the nurses and midwives explaining that this chant is a call for the annihilation of Jews and that they should not be shouting this genocidal chant, let alone while wearing NSW Health uniform.

‘I also had meetings with AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) asking for something to be done about it in terms of regulation.’

But Ms Stoliar, who is married to an Israeli Jew, was horrified when her warning sparked revenge complaints demanding her dismissal.

Ms Stoliar said a total of eight grievances about her were lodged with APRAH and the Health Care Complaints Commission [HCCC], calling for her to be stripped of her medical licences.

‘Whilst initially those complaints were dismissed, two of the complainants went on to ask for a review of the outcome causing the HCCC to investigate,’ she revealed.

‘[They] placed formal comments on my registration all without my knowledge and without giving me my legal right to reply.’

Ms Stoliar aired her concerns about her treatment on social media, but claims she then received an official letter threatening her with being jailed.  

Many medical staff wore their uniforms during the protests 

She managed to prove her innocence with the help of her legal team and eventually had her registration cleared.

‘Do you see the double standard?’ she said.

‘I asked for end of a genocidal chant by NSW Health staff while wearing their uniform instead I get formal corrective comments and threats of jail time.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Health for comment. 

Police are now waiting to see the full unedited version of the video clip featured the Bankstown nurses and Mr Veifer.

It was recorded on Chatruletka, a phone app which connects random users for video chat, and showed the pair dressed in NSW Health scrubs while threatening Jews.

‘It’s Palestine’s country, not your country you piece of s***,’ Abu Lebdeh said.

‘One day your time will come and you will die the most horrible death.’

‘You have no idea how many (Israelis) came to this hospital and I sent them to Jehannam (hell),’ Nadir said, while making a throat-slitting gesture.

Police have since swooped on Bankstown Hospital and seized CCTV as part of the investigation as they assess what charges, if any, can be laid.

Police are now waiting to see the full unedited version of the video clip featuring the Bankstown nurses and israeli influencer Max Veifer (pictured)

Rashad Nadir (pictured) was born in Afghanistan but fled with his family at the age of 12 after his father was killed

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has branded the comments in the video akin to a hate crime and established Strike Force Pearl to investigate.

‘This is a sad day for our country, it is unthinkable that we are confronted with, and forced to, investigate such an appalling incident,’ she said on Wednesday.

‘The speed in which this incident was reported by NSW Health significantly assisted detectives in what is a very serious investigation.

‘Detectives have managed to interview staff and establish areas within Bankstown Hospital where detectives believe the video was allegedly filmed.

‘We have also seized CCTV footage which is currently under review. There will be further developments overnight.

‘It is crucial police are given time to conduct further interviews and navigate this high-level investigation.’

Abu Lebdeh and Nadir have both apologised for the comments. 

Nadir, 27, covered his face in shame when the media confronted him at his western Sydney home on Wednesday , and insisted his comments were ‘a joke and a misunderstanding’.

‘I will use social media, anything, to apologise but I need to go and see the detectives first,’ he said.

He was born in Afghanistan but fled with his family at the age of 12 after his father was killed.

He and his mother crossed Asia through Iran, Malaysia and Indonesia before risking their lives on a boat bound for Australia.

‘After spending four nights and five days, we reached international waters, and the Australian Navy rescued us and took us on board,’ he said in an interview three years ago.

He revealed how his family were taken to Christmas Island and Darwin after being plucked to safety at sea before eventually settling in Sydney. He gained Australian citizenship four years ago.

Nadir, 27, covered his head in shame when he was confronted by Seven News on Wednesday

Nadir has been stood down from his nursing position at Bankstown Hospital 

In addition to his role at Bankstown Hospital, Nadir had also worked at Observatory Hill Medical Centre in central Sydney one day per week.

Dr Nirmal Singh Grewal, who founded the general practice 25 years ago, told Daily Mail Australia that Nadir was well liked, but had been fired from his job over the incident.

Solicitor Mohamad Sakr said his client is trying to ‘make amends for what has happened’.

‘My client sends a very sincere apology to not only that individual but to the Jewish community as a whole,’ he added.

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