Jewish patients across Sydney asked hospitals to remove their religion from medical records after two nurses allegedly threatened to refuse treatment to Israeli patients, a royal commission heard Tuesday. The requests came amid widespread fear within the Jewish community about accessing healthcare following the February 2025 allegations at Bankstown Hospital.
Fear Spreads Through Healthcare System
St Vincent's Hospital Sydney fielded calls from patients throughout the facility requesting their religious identification be scrubbed from records, according to Rabbi Mendel Kastel, who's worked as a NSW Health chaplain for years. The two former nurses have pleaded not guilty to charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. One faces an additional charge of threatening violence to a group.
The scale of the problem forced conversations about whether Jewish Australians needed separate healthcare pathways. "After the story with the nurses there was real fear to the extent that even in my discussions with NSW Health, [it] was should we create a diversion or another way that people can get healthcare because they're too afraid to go to hospital," Rabbi Kastel told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
He rejected that approach outright. "My answer was absolutely not. We need to make sure that hospitals are safe and that people feel safe in hospitals."
Healthcare Leaders Respond
South Western Sydney Local Health District CEO Sonya Marshall is scheduled to testify Wednesday about policies and training implemented after the allegations surfaced. The commission, which has been sitting since May, is focusing this week on education and training across schools, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and arts organizations.
Rabbi Kastel filmed a reassurance video with a Muslim colleague at Bankstown Hospital itself, attempting to restore confidence in the facility. When Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC asked whether hospital staff should be banned from wearing Palestinian and Israeli flag pins "in the current climate," Rabbi Kastel supported the restriction.
Public Sector Grapples With Neutrality
The commission also examined how government agencies handle political expression by employees. More than 2,000 public servants signed an open letter in early 2024 criticizing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's response to the war in Gaza. "We call on the Australian Government to take swift and decisive action tend its support of the genocide, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Palestine by immediately ceasing all military exports to Israel," the letter stated.
Australian Public Service Commission acting deputy commissioner Joanne Talbot acknowledged the letter raised serious concerns. "It is highly concerning and it does border on being apolitical," she said, though she didn't know what happened to the employees involved. The Australian Public Service's statement of values requires political neutrality.
NSW Public Service Commissioner Kathrina Lo was more direct. "That is clearly a case where public servants crossed the line," she said. "The actions there weren't consistent with the legislated core values for the government sector and the requirements to remain impartial and apolitical." She and the secretary of the NSW premier's office sent a joint message to all state public servants reinforcing impartiality obligations, both after the letter and following the Bankstown hospital allegations.
Personal Costs of Addressing Hate
Melbourne Holocaust Museum CEO Breann Fallon, who isn't Jewish, described losing friendships over her work. More than 800,000 students have engaged with the museum's education programs since 1984. "It has been commonly stated to me that 'I can no longer be your friend if you work at that institution'," she told the commission.
She and museum staff can't exit their cars at work without checking their surroundings. "There have been issues where people have stated to me, 'Be careful, I know where you work'," Dr Fallon said.
Rabbi Kastel's testimony came months after his brother-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, died in the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14, 2025. Fifteen people were killed in the shooting during a Hanukkah event at Bondi's Archer Park. One gunman was shot dead by police; the other remains before the courts.
Becoming emotional, Rabbi Kastel described the One Mitzvah for Bondi campaign encouraging community good deeds as a fitting tribute. "We're taught in Jewish values that the way to move forward is by embracing good, creating more light," he said. He emphasized interfaith collaboration as essential to social cohesion. "We're not going to agree on everything. But one thing we can agree on is to be kind to each other, and to demand from the Australian society to be kind to everyone."
Former Department of Employment and Workplace Relations secretary Natalie James, who is Jewish, said she hadn't personally experienced antisemitism in the public sector but worried about inadequate guidance. "I am concerned there is a hesitancy to lean beyond the overt antisemitism and into some of this very uncomfortable space where … framing around the Middle East conflict means we are in a very grave space," she said.
The Department of Home Affairs' head of immigration, Clare Sharp, outlined tools for preventing potentially harmful individuals from entering Australia. She cited conservative speaker Candace Owens being denied a temporary visa under the character test for downplaying the Holocaust's impact, and musician Kanye West being blocked over antisemitic song lyrics.
Why This Matters:
When patients fear identifying their religion to receive medical care, Australia's healthcare system faces a fundamental crisis of trust that demands institutional accountability. The testimony reveals how threats from individual healthcare workers can ripple through entire communities, forcing vulnerable people to choose between accessing necessary treatment and protecting themselves from potential discrimination. Public institutions—from hospitals to government agencies—must enforce clear standards that protect all community members equally, particularly when geopolitical conflicts threaten to import division into essential services. The commission's examination of public sector neutrality raises critical questions about where legitimate political expression ends and the duty to serve all Australians impartially begins. With more than 800,000 students having participated in Holocaust education programs over 42 years, the personal costs described by educators and chaplains working to combat hate demonstrate that building social cohesion requires sustained institutional commitment and protection for those doing the work.