Aussies call for nurse’s citizenship to be taken away after anti-Semitic tirade – as Peter Dutton calls for major change to immigration system

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has called for a debate on Australia’s migration system after Daily Mail Australia revealed that one of the nurses involved in a vile anti-Semitic tirade was granted Australian citizenship four years ago.

Bankstown Hospital employees Ahmad ‘Rashad’ Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh – appeared on an online video chat app which was recorded by Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer.

‘It’s Palestine’s country, not your country you piece of s***,’ Abu Lebdeh said in the video which went viral on Wednesday.

‘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.

Both have been stood down while NSW Health investigate. 

Nadir, 27, was born in Afghanistan but fled to Australia with his family at the age of 12 after his father was killed.

He and his mother crossed Asia before risking their lives on a boat bound for Australia, and he gained Australian citizenship four years ago.

‘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 by the Australian Navy before eventually settling in Sydney.

Mr Dutton condemned his comments and indicated support for stripping Nadir of his citizenship after Australia had given him a fresh start.

‘It’s an outrage and we’ve got big problems in this country when somebody like that can become an Australian citizen,’ Mr Dutton told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

He said that under current rules, it was nearly impossible to quash someone’s citizenship, but he called for a system overhaul to make it possible.

‘To take citizenship or strip citizenship from somebody, there are constitutional constraints, and at some stage, our country has to have a discussion, I think, about the way in which the whole migration system works.

‘It’s a conversation for our country at some point, maybe sooner than later, about how we can say to these people, “if you don’t share our values, if you’re here and you’re enjoying the welfare system and you’re enjoying free health and free education, then at the same time you hate our country?”‘

Mr Dutton’s comments come amid growing calls on social media for Nadir’s citizenship to be quashed. 

‘He doesn’t deserve to live in our beautiful country – deport immediately,’ one said.

A second added: ‘Strip him of his citizenship and deport immediately.’

Nadir, 27, covered his face in shame when the media confronted him at his western Sydney home, and insisted the 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 on Wednesday. 

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.

Meanwhile, Abu Lebdeh’s uncle spoke out on her behalf yesterday, claiming she suffered an ‘extreme panic attack’ after the video went viral.

‘I’m trying to calm her down to see what the f*** happened,’ he said.

‘She’s been a nurse for God knows how long. She’s never done anything to hurt anyone.’

The incident has prompted Bankstown Hospital to delete a photo uploaded to its Instagram page showing a woman in a ‘Free Palestine’ T-shirt, which was included in the hospital newsletter.

It’s understood Nadir and Abu Lebdeh have not yet spoken formally to police but are in contact with officers.

Detectives have also asked Mr Veifer for the full, raw version of the video he recorded showing the nurses making the vile comments, as they assess what charges, if any, can be laid.

The comments have been condemned by political, medical and community leaders and sparked urgent audits of patient care at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.

Earlier, Health Minister Ryan Park said a ‘conversation’ would happen on Thursday with hospital staff to make clear such comments were unacceptable and to ensure people feel confident to seek care if they were sick or injured.

‘If we have a cultural issue or challenge in certain hospitals, then we’re going to get to the bottom of it,’ he told Nine’s Today show.

An initial examination by NSW Health found no evidence the care of any Israeli patients had been affected, but a more thorough investigation will follow.