Nurse wants alleged Israeli threat video tossed out

Two former nurses are facing legal challenges for allegedly discussing the killing of Israeli patients, with the admissibility of key evidence being questioned, potentially impacting their prosecution.

Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir were exposed in a video released by Israeli social media personality Max Veifer. The video purportedly shows them claiming to refuse treatment to Israelis and even threatening to kill them. The alleged threatening remarks were made in February this year during a conversation on the online platform Chatruletka, while both were working at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in southwest Sydney.

After Veifer posted the video to social media, their comments sparked widespread condemnation, including from the Prime Minister and the Premier of New South Wales. The pair made their first court appearance on Wednesday, with Abu Lebdeh arriving surrounded by six supporters dressed in black to shield her from the media. Nadir arrived at court later. Neither spoke during the brief court appearance, and the local magistrate adjourned the case until May.

Nadir's lawyer later told reporters that he plans to apply to have the key video excluded from evidence. Zemarai Khatiz stated outside the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney that the video was "recorded without his knowledge," and "we will be applying to have that video excluded." If the application is successful, prosecutors will have little other evidence to rely on in their case against the two nurses.

Abu Lebdeh is charged with threatening violence against a group of people, using a transport service to threaten to kill, and using a transport service to menace, harass, or offend. The 26-year-old woman has been granted bail but is prohibited from leaving Australia or using social media. Nadir was hospitalized after the video surfaced, but in early March, he was charged with using a transport service to menace, harass, or offend, and possessing prohibited drugs. The 27-year-old man had previously apologized through his lawyer for the comments he made in the video.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has banned both from working as nurses nationwide, and their registration has been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales.