Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care
Shadow Minister for Sport
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for South Australia
27 FEBRUARY 2025
ALBANESE GOVERNMENT HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER OVER LETTER ON ANTISEMITISM IN MEDICAL PROFESSION
The Albanese Labor Government admits it took no action in response to an alarming letter from more than 230 health practitioners in late 2023 raising allegations of severe antisemitic behaviour within Australia’s health system.
In fact, the Government, the Ministers the letter was addressed to, the Department nor Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) ever bothered to reply to the letter.
In two separate Senate Estimates hearings this week, the Government was questioned about the letter which was sent to the Minister for Health Mark Butler and copied to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Labor Minister Clare O’Neil also received a copy, as did Labor MP Josh Burns.
In the Community Affairs committee, the Minister representing the Minister for Health was unable to confirm whether Mr Butler had even seen the letter.
The hearing heard that neither the Prime Minister nor his department has sought a briefing from the AHPRA on antisemitic actions in our healthcare system.
Equally concerning is that the Health Minister only requested a briefing following the horrific Bankstown nurses incident this year—ignoring the issue entirely since the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.
In a separate committee, the Attorney-General’s Department was unable to answer questions about the letter, saying they had no knowledge of its receipt by the Attorney. The Department took questions about the letter on notice.
But the committee heard the letter writer received an automated reply from the Attorney-General’s office acknowledging receipt of the letter but no further reply. The letter was first sent in October 2023 and again in November 2023.
Shadow Attorney-General Senator Michaelia Cash, who tabled the letter in Senate Estimates, said: “This letter raised extremely disturbing and disgusting allegations about conduct within the medical profession in relation to antisemitism. Mr Dreyfus needs to explain what happened to the letter.’’
“The Attorney-General needs to explain why, if the letter was received, that it was not answered or followed up,’’ Senator Cash says.
“This letter was written just weeks after the October 7 attacks in Israel, with many examples of antisemitic behaviour that should have been investigated,’’ she said.
“If his office received this letter the Attorney-General should have acted and at least had the decency to reply to it. For example, advice could have been offered about how to pursue complaints in the Australian Human Rights Commission, which falls within the Attorney’s portfolio,’’ Senator Cash said.
Shadow Minister for Health Senator Anne Ruston said: “There was damning evidence given to the Community Affairs committee that despite a flood of antisemitic hate online from within the health community, no real action has been taken and no one had been suspended.”
“Despite the hundreds of antisemitic posts online, only three regulatory complaints have been lodged, resulting in just two cautions—a mere slap on the wrist. This lack of action is completely unacceptable,’’ Senator Ruston said.
“Furthermore, the fact that it took the exposure of the horrific Bankstown Nurses’ video to trigger the Minister to ask for briefings from AHPRA is shocking when doctors tried to warn him 18 months prior.”
The letter contained a number of appendices which included documented examples of derogatory comments about Israel and antisemitic views, which are negatively affecting Jewish medical professionals’ psychological safety.
The letter said: “In recent weeks, there has been a concerning accumulation of photographs, statements, and documented incidents that shed light on how derogatory remarks about Israel, its supporters, and antisemitic commentary have infiltrated healthcare settings, compromising the psychological safety of Jewish medical professionals.”
It went on to say: “Doctors in the public domain (Facebook), where they are identified as doctors by virtue of the large groups they’re in, have displayed their attitudes”. This extremely concerning commentary included:
- comparing Jews to Nazis;
- categorising the contributions of Jewish colleagues as “biased crap”;
- referring to Jewish colleagues in the medical profession as “overlords”, “pro-war players” and “gronks”;
- referring to Jewish colleagues as “embracing victimhood”, having “been somehow indoctrinated into lacking any basic empathy for Palestinians as human beings”, “grown up steeped in Zionist propaganda,” or “victims of one sided education and media which views Palestinians as less than human”;
- becoming “irritated” at Jewish colleagues who made comments about the traumatising effects of the largest single massacre of Jewish people since the holocaust.
- censoring any references to the word “Jew” or “Jewish”; and
- minimising the actions of Hamas – including expressing sympathy and support for Hamas, apparent victim blaming for Jewish women who were violently sexual assaulted by Hamas at a rave, attempts to de-legitimise so-called “rape allegations”, calling reporting of the Hamas murder of babies “a barrage of misinformation” and “propaganda”.
ENDS
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