The Horror of the Past and the Present, a Disturbing Wake-Up Call

This morning, I woke up to a video message from my friend Adina in Israel. “This is so scary,” she wrote. I opened the clip, not yet realising just how terrifying it truly was.

The video showed two healthcare professionals from Bankstown Hospital in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) – Ahmad ‘Rashad’ Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh – wearing NSW Health uniforms and openly professing their willingness to harm Israeli patients. Nadir boasted about having already sent Israeli patients to “Jahannam” (hell), while Abu Lebdeh stated she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them. This is horrific from anyone, but how much more so coming from health care professionals – people who are entrusted to take care of ALL patients, regardless of gender, race and ethnicity.

Thankfully, these radical Jew-haters were exposed by Israeli content creator Max Veifer, and the footage quickly went viral, sparking immediate outrage. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park immediately condemned the remarks as “disgusting and appalling,” confirming that both individuals had been suspended and would never work for NSW Health again. The NSW Police’s Strike Force Pearl – a specialised unit set up in December 2024 to investigate antisemitic hate crimes across Sydney (how sad that such a unit is even necessary) has now launched an investigation. And while it’s far too little and way too late, even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the scandal, calling the comments ‘vile’ and ‘shameful’ while assuring the Jewish community that such behaviour won’t be tolerated.

But how did we even get here? How did we reach a point where healthcare workers, those sworn to provide care and healing – in Sydney, Australia, in 2025, could so openly declare their intent to harm Israeli people? And we know exactly what that means – Jewish people. HOW?

What made this all the more chilling for me was realising that this hospital was only about an hour’s drive from my home. It made me wonder, how many Jews and Israelis have passed through its doors, unknowingly placing their lives in the hands of people who harboured such hatred? A truly terrifying thought.

And then, I remembered another story, one I had heard from my stepfather a year ago and had since been pushed to the back of my mind. A story that came rushing back echoing today’s events in a deeply disturbing way.

The Föhrenwald hospital scandal.

Föhrenwald was one of the largest Displaced Persons (DP) Camps in post-World War II Germany. It provided temporary housing and medical care for survivors and became a significant centre for Orthodox Jewish life, with numerous Shules, Yeshivas, and even a Mikvah! Despite the hardships, Föhrenwald thrived as a hub for Jewish learning and religious observance. I personally know many people whose parents and grandparents went through Föhrenwald, many of whom now live in Australia, including my friend Adina’s grandmother (the friend who sent me the footage)!

My stepfather, Moishe Gordon, is the son of Holocaust survivors. His parents, Chaim Zellig and Betty – who deserve an entire article of their own for how truly tremendous they were, were both partisans, fighting in the resistance against the Nazis. After the war, they found themselves in Föhrenwald, where they married and began the impossible task of rebuilding their shattered lives. It was in Föhrenwald that they were finally able to rebuild and welcome their first child, their son Shmuel Moshe. Imagine the joy they must have felt, holding their precious baby boy in their arms. After losing most of their family and enduring unimaginable pain and trauma, they had finally found a glimmer of happiness. They had renewed meaning and purpose, and at last, they knew their legacy would live on. Around six months later little baby Shmuel Moshe developed a fever and had to be taken to the local Föhrenwald hospital located within the DP camp. Chaim and Betty were devastated, but what could they do? They needed their little baby to get better. Over Shabbos, Betty had a terrible feeling, a pit in her stomach and an unshakable sense that something was wrong. She insisted to Chaim that they go to the hospital immediately, but he reassured her that they would go as soon as Shabbos ended. A devout and holy Yid, Chaim could not bring himself to break Shabbos, and Betty’s gut feeling alone wasn’t warrant enough.

The moment Shabbos ended, they rushed to the hospital, only to be met with the unbearable news. Their precious baby, Shmuel Moshe, was no longer alive. The medical staff claimed he had died over Shabbos due to his fever, and just like that, Betty and Chaim left the hospital, childless. The suspicious part of the story was that there was no corpse, it had disappeared, they could not even bury their own baby.

One cannot begin to imagine their pain – nor should anyone ever have to.

Shattered but determined to rebuild, Betty and Chaim eventually made their way to Melbourne, Australia, where through tireless effort and work they built a new life and a new family, raising their daughter Leah and their son Moishe.

Fast forward almost 80 years. Moishe’s cousin, Sara, who currently lives in Israel, began researching and investigating Föhrenwald. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Sara was determined to properly document her family’s story. Her husband was also born in Föhrenwald, making this history even more personal. What she uncovered was a lot of questionable information, specifically surrounding the Föhrenwald hospital. A lot of crucial details, births, deaths, ages, and reasons for death – were all left half empty. So many questions, yet not many answers. There had also been rumours circulating among Föhrenwald survivors that former Nazis were still roaming Germany and had infiltrated medical institutions. There were numerous missing records for many Jewish children who mysteriously and suddenly died, supposedly “due to illness,” but that was about it. The vagueness made the whole situation seem very sketchy indeed. Many suspected that the deaths of Jewish infants and toddlers in the hospital were due NOT to natural causes but were, in fact, part of a covert effort to continue the Nazis’ work, killing Jewish people even after the war had officially ended. Sara managed to track down incomplete hospital records, speak to survivors, and record their testimonies. Though she could never factually prove it (most of the evidence had been completely destroyed), it was apparent that there was definitely something sinister at play.

Sara was finally able to obtain baby Shmuel Moshe’s death certificate and give it to Leah and Moishe. This was the first time Moishe had ever learned his brother’s full name (which he shares a part of his name – Moshe) and the date of his Yarzheit, 14 Teves. Their parents rarely spoke about their experiences or the death of their older brother; it was simply too painful. Yet, because there was no proper documentation, Leah and Moishe had been denied crucial information about their brother – information that had clearly been meticulously hidden from their family.

Now, of course, the story of Föhrenwald and Sydney, Australia, are vastly different in so many ways. I would never, G-d forbid, compare the tragedy of the Shoah – the largest genocide in human history, to our current times. Yet, something eerie stands out to me. The fact that rabid Jew-haters still exist today, stronger than ever. That medical professionals – those entrusted to care for all patients equally, could even utter such vile things. And who knows if they haven’t acted on them?

It feels disturbingly close when you consider that Jewish children were still being murdered even after the Holocaust, in a DP camp! We always say, “Never again,” yet today serves as another stark reminder that “Never again” is far too late. And here we are again, different but also in many ways the same. How naïve we were to think such atrocities could not be repeated, how naïve… Yet, I know that this time is different. I have witnessed the unshakable unity of our people, how proud and empowered we are. As it says in the Pesach Haggadah, which is approaching before we know it:

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ, שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבַד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם.

“And it is this (promise) that has stood for our ancestors and for us:
For not only one enemy has risen against us to destroy us,
but in every generation, they rise against us to destroy us.
But the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves us from their hands.”

We are a people who have risen from the ashes, who rebuild, who refuse to be silenced or defeated. We are warriors, we are lamplighters, we are ambassadors of goodness and kindness, of morality in the world. And we carry the strength of our ancestors before us and for generations to come.

AM YISRAEL CHAI!