"A wide-ranging investigation published by The Australian has highlighted a series of troubling allegations concerning a rise in antisemitism within Australia’s healthcare system since the attacks of October 7, 2023."

"More than 30 doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals described an increasingly politicized workplace, alleged discrimination against Jewish patients and staff, and incidents that have caused growing concern within the country’s Jewish community."

"According to the testimonies gathered by the newspaper, pro-Palestinian activism that emerged on Australian streets after October 7 gradually spread into hospitals and other medical institutions."

"Staff members at several hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney were reportedly seen wearing badges or displaying posters bearing the slogan “From the river to the sea.” Political stickers were also allegedly placed in hospital departments, including one depicting a Star of David crossed out with a red line."

i24NEWS  

"Anti-Israel activism began almost immediately after the October 76 massacre when the protests that unfolded in Australian cities spilled into the wards and staff rooms of hospitals in Melbourne, Sydney and other capital cities."

"At the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, which has received tens of millions of dollars from Jewish philanthropists, such stickers [Star of David with red line through it] were stuck to the bedside wall of an elderly Jewish patient in the hours before he died."

Megan Goldin article in The Australian

 

"Doctors and nurses were posting Nazi symbols and little caricatures of Jewish people but using the word 'Zionist' instead of 'Jews'."

Jewish pediatric neurologist Carly Debinski 

Sydney, Australia  Mark Baker/AP

 

A report published by The Australian following an investigation into a seeming pandemic of antisemitic acts by Australian health-care workers against Jewish patients, caught the attention of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, characterizing it as a "deeply  troubling picture and should serve as a wakeup call. We call upon the Australian government to confront antisemitism forcefully. No Jew should ever feel compelled to hide their identity to receive medical care in an Australian hospital", wrote Israel's Foreign Ministry.

 

A link to The Wentworth Report quoting large sections of an article written by Megan Goldin in The Australian was included in the ministry's statement. The article detailed a number of egregious antisemitic behavioral examples by hospital staff toward Jewish patients in medical facilities in Australia. The article revealed statements by 30 doctors, nurses, midwives and health professionals who were interviewed describing their experiences since the October 7, 2023 massacre, where anti-Israel activist health-care workers were "turning hospitals and medical clinics into ideological war zones instead of safe spaces".

 

The case of Elon Glassberg, former surgeon general of the Israel Defense Forces was cited by interviewees, whose scheduled appearance at a medical conference in Perth was cancelled last year when anti-Israel doctors and nurses threatened to protest. Immediately following October 7, anti-Israel medical staff wore protest symbols at work. Bathroom stalls and hallways were covered with stickers, one of which represented a Star of David with a red line struck through it. 

 

Facebook group Jewish members have been vilified or ejected should they speak of Israeli hostages, much less the horrendous atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists and ordinary Palestinian civilians, led by Hamas on October 7. A Jewish intensive care unit nurse at a Melbourne hospital was cited, (who requested anonymity), resigned her position of over ten years in response to management's having refused to address hateful speech online, by hospital staff. "If these people are willing to share these things on social media, imagine how they treat a patient face-to-face."

 

A doctor who described Jews as "loathed slime" online and posted a Hitler quote faced no consequences. Complaints of any number of other doctors who posted antisemitic, pro-Hamas positions also faced no consequences. "That pattern was repeated across the country as hospitals and healthcare regulators tolerated conduct against Jews that would have triggered disciplinary action if the conduct had targeted any other minority group, say numerous medical professionals who experienced this double standard" reported The Australian. 

  

Anti-Israel protesters in Sydney, Australia   ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

"The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and the Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Ms Jillian Segal AO, not only condemn antisemitism in all its forms but also reaffirm their shared commitment to eliminating antisemitism – together with all forms of racism and discrimination – in healthcare."

"Antisemitism causes real and lasting harm. In healthcare, it erodes trust, creates fear and exclusion, and can prevent people from seeking or receiving care. It also undermines the safety and wellbeing of Jewish health practitioners and staff. There is no place for antisemitism in a system dedicated to protecting health and saving lives."

"The Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism said:

‘Healthcare should be a safe space for the entire community – patients, practitioners and workers alike. The antisemitism we’ve seen recently puts everyone at risk, and it has no place in our health system. I commend Ahpra for adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism and committing to putting in place further measures to help push antisemitism to the margins.’

Ahpra is strengthening its capability to respond effectively when antisemitism is identified through its regulatory processes. This includes ensuring staff have the necessary training, clear guidance and expert advice to ensure matters are handled with cultural understanding, sensitivity and rigour."

"Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said: ‘Antisemitism costs lives and has no place in healthcare. Ahpra is committed to working with the Special Envoy and partners to eliminate antisemitism from the health system, because everyone should feel safe when accessing care.’

Ahpra has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as a reference tool, supported by the Special Envoy’s handbook to support a consistent understanding of antisemitism in its contemporary forms in our regulatory work.

Ahpra is reviewing its Vexatious Notifications Framework in response to concerns about weaponisation of the notifications process and is establishing an advisory panel of practitioners – including those with lived experience of notifications underpinned by antisemitism - to inform improvements to systems and processes and strengthen safeguards."

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) 

 

Marie McKinerney, Croakey Health Media

 

Protecting Canada's Medical Supplies from Punishing Tariffs

"The announced tariffs on Canadian exports, along with retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada on the U.S., will likely bring significant risks to Ontario's health care system, including the disruption of access to vital equipment and supplies."

"The OHA [Ontario Hospital Association] is very concerned about the impact of this trade war on the delivery of care and is engaging with the federal and provincial governments and other stakeholders to fully understand and minimize the impact on hospitals."

"[Much is still unknown in the] evolving [political climate]."

Melissa Prokopy, vice-president, policy and advocacy, Ontario Hospital Association 

"We do stand with the government, you know, that U.S. tariffs cannot go unanswered. However, health care must be protected."

"We are looking for exemption of health-care products from any retaliatory tariffs."

"This will be very important to protect supply chain stability and prevent any kind of cost escalations." 

Christine Donaldson, chief executive, Health PRO Canada

In a global supply system, making pharmaceuticals and medical devices often involves multiple countries, so it might be difficult to pinpoint all the specific components that come through the U.S. that might be subject to counter-tariffs. Photo by Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press files

Federal and provincial governments in Canada are being urged by health associations to make certain that patients in Canada will not become caught in the crossfire of the trade war that the new Trump administration in the U.S. has imposed upon Canada. HealthPRO Canada, a company which purchases medications, supplies and equipment for over 2,000 hospitals, health-care facilities and long-term care homes across the country announced it is seeking clarity on potential future counter-tariffs. 

The company's chief executive made a comparison to the automotive industry, with the manufacturing process for many health-care supplies where raw materials and components often cross borders "several times before they reach their finished production". In other words, a fully integrated system of production shared by the U.S. and Canada. The imposition of tariffs entirely disrupts the free flow of materials and finished products.

While it is not yet clear which products in particular could potentially be affected by future counter-tariffs, some essential medications, medical devices and diagnostic imaging equipment -- including MRI and CT scanners, surgical tools and ventilators -- frequently are manufactured in the United States. 

Hospitals could also be affected through counter-tariffs on food, mattresses and other non-medical goods in the uncertainty brought about by the ongoing trade war, when U.S. President Donald Trump decided that he was dissatisfied with the existing U.S.-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement that he signed on to during his first presidential term, expressing his satisfaction at the time that negotiators representing the three North American countries had hammered out a good free trade agreement.

 

A treatment room is pictured at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, Alta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

 

The types of medical devices most affected by tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada include:

1. Medical Imaging Equipment: Devices such as MRI machines, CT scanners, and X-ray machines are heavily impacted due to their reliance on imported components.
2. Surgical Instruments: Many surgical tools and instruments are imported, and tariffs can significantly increase their costs.
3. Diagnostic Equipment: Devices used for diagnostics, including blood analyzers and other laboratory equipment, are also affected.
4. Electronic Medical Devices: This category includes devices like pacemakers, defibrillators, and other electronic health monitoring equipment.
5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Items such as gloves, masks, and gowns, which are crucial for healthcare workers, face increased costs due to tariffs.

Moscow's Scorched-Earth Agenda in Ukraine

Kherson in June, New York Times

"If the war ended tomorrow, and I don't think it will, it would take five years to rebuild that dam and then at least two more for the reservoir to fill up."

"Then it would take another ten years for the fish to grow -- for some species, 20 [years]."

"I'm 50. I don't know if I'll even be around that long."

"[This was a] katastrofa."

Serhii Bezhan, patriarch, Fishing business

 

"If we irrigate with only what nature gives us, it will not grow. Because now there's cool weather and rain here, but in the summer the climate is very dry, it's very hot, and so [the harvest] won't even be here at all."

"[The word in the local business community was that] once the Russians were kicked out [there was a plan to at least temporarily block the river and restore the reservoir]."

"For now, while they [the Russians] are here — 20 kilometres away from us — the government doesn't want to do this because obviously they might be shelling and there will be casualties." 

"We really love this water reservoir. It gives life. We all depend on this water."

Denys Myronenko, strawberry and grape farmer

 

"There's now a whole downstream catchment of the river that is not controlled. In the wetter periods flood waves will just come through."

"I expect those tens of thousands of people who were evacuated will have to stay away for a while as long as those solutions are not in place. It is difficult to see people coming back to those communities in this situation."

Jaap Flikweert, flood and coastal management advisor, engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV

The dried-up Kakhovka reservoir in Ukraine is shown after the dam was destroyed on June 6, causing massive flooding along the lower Dnipro River. The receding water has revealed the remains of an ancient settlement known as the 'Cossack Meadow.' (Stephanie Jenzer/CBC)

When the Kakhovka Reservoir in central Ukraine was still intact, kids would play in the shallow water close to shore. Young couples would stroll beneath the pine trees, and men would go there to fish. This idyll was destroyed months ago when a major downriver dam was destroyed and the lake that shimmered in the sun and was a favourite recreational area for residents, was drained. It had once reined as one of Europe's largest lakes. In its place now, is a 150-mile-long meadow.

Serhii Bezhan's family business was established sixty years ago as a fishing enterprise on the shores of the lake. Generation after generation of the family made an enterprising living off fish. There are now no longer any fish to be caught. The family business of buying boats, nets, freezers and huge ice-making machinery is also now no more.

The seismic meters hundreds of miles distant from the reservoir and the dam on June 6 detected an explosion of enormous force taking place at the Kakhovka dam along the Dnieper River. The dam's reinforced concrete walls, over 60 feet in height and up to 100 feet thick, had crumbled, resulting in a massive 4.8 trillion gallons of water escaping in huge gushes flooding downstream communities.

The evidence indicating scientifically that the dam was blown up from inside has been attributed to Russia, a deliberate act of civilian sabotage, a war crime. A war crime among many other war crimes targeting civilian infrastructure; markets and schools and hospitals. The rehearsal of all these war crimes that took place in Syria is continuing to play out in Ukraine. Epic floods were created inflicting more misery on the Ukrainian population.

First the flood, then an ensuing drought, and wholesale environmental destruction, to the Ukrainian economy, to the lives of people never imagining their vast country would ever be under invasion and occupation again by a rapacious and cruel neighbour. To the present day, homes remain water-logged and mud-smeared. Everywhere lie the stinking skeletons of dead fish. There is a drinking-water crisis, a crisis of lack of irrigation for farmers. Communities bereft of work. Losses whose depths are not yet fully understood.

It seems there is no level of destruction and malevolent misery to be inflicted on the invaded country that is too extreme to be contemplated by a civilized world view. Power plants have been bombed with great deliberation, as have grain silos, with massive food losses. At one and the same time, Russia claims Ukrainian geography is really Russia's, while inflicting grave wounds on the land, destroying towns and cities, turning infrastructure into rubble, depriving people of their homes and their livelihoods and their lives.

 

Local residents take boats along a flooded street in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 8 as they evacuate from a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed two days earlier. (Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters)

"At 2:35 a.m and 2:54 a.m. on June 6, seismic sensors in Ukraine and Romania detected the telltale signs of large explosions. Witnesses in the area heard large blasts between roughly 2:15 a.m. and 3 a.m. And just before the dam gave way, American intelligence satellites captured infrared heat signals that also indicated an explosion."

"The dam was designed to withstand any kind of attack from without."

"Evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within."

New York Times