“I’m too frightened to write the word ‘Jewish’ on a hospital form,” three Australian Jews told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The three patients had all reached out to Dr. Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, for advice about revealing their religion in their hospital admission. The Post then spoke to them exclusively.
Patient 1: I felt too vulnerable to put that I was Jewish
Patient 1 said, “I had a procedure in January, and I put on my form that I was born in Australia because I didn’t feel comfortable to write Israel. I also did not state I was Jewish. When you are under general anesthetic, you are completely vulnerable. Several of my friends have done the same.”
She told the Post that she was never scared or worried about being openly Jewish or Israeli before October 7.
“I think in the months following October 7, when I began to see large crowds of protesters at some Jewish events and in the CBD (Central Business District), I became much more conscious of it and would hide it in certain circumstances (such as in an Uber if asked where I’m from, or on a hospital form),” she said.
In her recent hospital visit, Patient 1 said she felt too vulnerable to disclose that she was Jewish and Israeli.
While she said she has never experienced antisemitism or discrimination personally by a medical worker, she has experienced hatred in public and professionally.
Patient 2: I asked the front desk to delete 'Jewish' from her file
Patient 2 told the Post, “I regularly go to hospital for treatment, and about a year ago I realized it’s not worth it if it affects the treatment I’m getting, so I asked the front desk to delete it [her Jewish identity].”
Patient 2 said the fear of identifying as Jewish began slightly before October 7, but “significantly after.” He said that he did put “Jewish” on the hospital form but cannot confirm whether anyone noticed it.
“So if they were less than friendly, or a needle hurt more than usual, it’s difficult to know for sure. That’s the scary part. There are easy and subtle ways to make a vulnerable patient feel very uncomfortable,” he said.
Patient 3: Oct. 7 made me scared to put 'Jewish' on hospital forms
Patient 3 told the Post, “I am going into a hospital for a day procedure. On admin papers it asks what religion I am. Do I put Jewish? I used to put Jewish, but in this climate, I am hesitant.”
Patient 3 said she only became fearful of revealing her Jewishness in medical settings after October 7 but has not faced any tangible discrimination yet.
She said she ultimately did write it down on the hospital form.
“I felt I am not going to hide my identity from those sh**he***,” she told the Post.
Abramovich told the Post that “Jews are now hiding in hospitals.”
“Not in Berlin in 1938. In Australia. Right now. All hiding the same word on their hospital forms. Jewish.
“People about to go under the knife or be treated in a hospital. And their biggest fear is not the treatment. It is the box marked ‘religion.’ Let that burn into you. In Australia, Jews believe it is dangerous to be Jewish on an operating table.”
He acknowledged a fourth message from a patient who is the granddaughter of an Auschwitz survivor but is “too ashamed” to tell her grandmother that she cannot put the word “Jewish” in a Melbourne hospital.
“This is fear of doctors. Fear of nurses. Fear of the people holding the needle. Hospitals are where we are weakest, where we hand our lives to strangers and trust them completely.”
“When Jews trust a stranger with their heart but not with their name, this country is in serious trouble. Hospitals are meant to save lives. Now Jews walk in wondering if their name will cost them theirs.”
Bankstown nurses incident
The three individuals’ fears are not without precedent. There have been multiple examples of antisemitic abuses in Australian healthcare, some of which are currently being heard by the Australian Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
A prominent example was the video recording of two former Sydney nurses saying they would kill Israeli patients.
During a conversation with Israeli content creator Max Veifer on the app Chatruletka last February, Bankstown nurses Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh said they would harm Israeli patients.
(Abu Lebdeh: “I won’t treat them, I’ll kill them”) and (Nadir: “You have no idea how many Israeli s*** dogs came to this hospital, and I sent them to hell.”)
When Veifer asked what would happen if “just Jewish people” came for treatment, Nadir appeared to have disconnected the call.
The Post has also covered an incident involving a nephrologist at Royal Perth Hospital who was reported for repeatedly harassing both Jewish and non-Jewish Zionist medical professionals via online trolling.