Antisemitic hatred has no place in our multicultural society, let alone our hospitals

My mother and her parents survived the Holocaust, although their entire extended family were murdered. Her parents had experienced decades of antisemitism in Poland before the war began. Australia has been a tolerant, multicultural, welcoming society for our refugee family and many more from conflicts all over the world. How, then, do two nurses from Bankstown Hospital hold such viciously antisemitic views, shared in their confident Australian accents (“Footage appears to show NSW nurses bragging about killing Israeli patients”, February 12)? I have worked as a doctor serving a complex, multicultural community at Liverpool Hospital for more than 20 years, and despite donning my Magen David (Jewish Star of David) after October 7, I have not had one word spoken against me. Now what? Are we going to allow the terrible situation in Israel and Gaza to change how we behave as Australians in our own country? What should we accept from fellow Australians? What is the consequence for being un-Australian? Lest I sound like Donald Trump, I should perhaps stop there. Instead, this might be an opportunity for all Australians to share solidarity against hatred. No more demonstrations with hatred in the tone. Reach out to your friends and colleagues, call out Wednesday’s events without any of the qualifying “buts”, and show support for Jewish people who are under threat in this country for reasons totally out of their control, for reasons only of hatred. Miriam Levy, Kensington

Thank you to the NSW health minister for so swiftly dealing with the alleged antisemitic video that emerged this morning. The most inspiring place I’ve ever worked in my medical career is in the emergency room of Hadassah Hospital in Mt Scopus, Israel. There, Israeli and Palestinian medics worked side by side to treat some of the region’s most vulnerable people. We received patients from the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Magen David Adom (Red Star of David). While politics raged outside the hospital walls, the ER was a bastion of peace. It was working in that hospital that made me realise that tolerance and recognising others’ humanity is the bedrock of coexistence. The healthcare system should not only transcend race, gender and religion, it often provides a unique environment for encounter that can lead to acceptance. I hope this proves to be an isolated incident and that NSW Health can prove an environment of true healing. Nicky Gluch, North Bondi

It was Israeli medical staff who provided life-saving brain surgery to Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar back in 2008 while he was serving time in an Israeli prison – the same Sinwar who later orchestrated the October 7 massacre. Clearly, those two nurses from Bankstown Hospital are not taking their moral instruction from the Israelis. Joanna Auerbach, Kensington

No rights turn

The headlines on Wednesday’s front page highlight the perilous state of our right to freedom of political expression in Australia (“Buttrose denies role in dismissal” and “Labor’s antisemitism laws face heat”, February 12). What becomes evident in these two articles is a power and influence divide. On the street side, the use of red paint and offensive symbols may soon incur mandatory sentences in a criminal court. The use of street tools to violate and intimidate will not be tolerated. On the other side, the silent influence of a seemingly untouchable lobby is handled in a civil court. Political and boardroom tools are just as violent and just as intimidating but the bearers are allowed to remain invisible and untouchable. When the civil case between Antoinette Lattouf and the ABC is over, will the Minns government and the NSW police investigate and prosecute the parlours of influence that sent the complaints to former ABC chair Ita Buttrose? We all have the right to a political opinion. Any tool used to violate or intimidate such a right should be captured by legislation, whether it is written in red ink or black. Ann Patel, Oatley

The ABC initially said in the Lattouf case that the complainant needed to prove that the Lebanese, Middle Eastern or Arab races exist. Of course, it then withdrew that argument. In the book How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford, who is described as a geneticist, he makes the point that, scientifically, there is but one human race. He writes: “Of all the attempts over the centuries to place humans in distinct races, none succeeds.” But that certainly does not mean racism does not exist. In withdrawing the argument, the ABC seems to have acknowledged, as Rutherford wrote, “Race is real because we perceive it. Racism is real because we enact it.” He also wrote: “The rights of people and the respect that individuals are due by dint of being a person are not predicated on biology. They are human rights.” John Elmgreen, Mosman

Trump is the cure

Mr Trump may seem more than a little crazy at times, but what a breath of fresh air he is in contrast to the humbug that has been reigning in Western society in recent decades. Someone had to arise to call out the unfair and potentially life-threatening nature of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. Someone had to point out the stultifying effects of bureaucracies that try to be the government. The same applies to a politically oriented judiciary. Donald dodged a bullet at one of his rallies and America dodged a bullet when it voted for him rather than Kamala Harris. We may be having a wild ride, but it may be just what the world needs. David Morrison, Springwood

Penalty kicks

It is interesting to note that of the three aluminium refiners in Australia, one, Alcoa Australia, is 60 per cent owned by an American firm, Alcoa Corporation, registered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Does Donald Trump know his tariffs will be cutting into an American company’s profits? Russell Julian, Port Macquarie

A supposed ally threatens completely unreasonable financial penalties in breach of its free trade agreement, and the media and Peter Dutton salivate as if this is the PM’s fault. There should be a unanimous and loud response from all sides of parliament and all facets of society saying we will not be bullied. Francesco Gasparre, Kurrajong Heights

Bulk billing for all

Incentives for GPs to bulk-bill should be extended (“Visits to a GP should be easier for young people”, February 12). The extension to cover people under 35 is welcome, but does reaching 36 bring a sudden nirvana of surplus wealth? This is a similar argument to bracket-creep, but one that inevitably applies to every citizen. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners convincingly states that increasing visits to GPs for preventative medicine will lower the burden on our hospitals and emergency departments, as well as reduce the rapidly increasing health cost to the economy. Bulk-billing incentives should cover all citizens at any age. Of course, that was the original design of Medibank when it was first set up. Lester Grace, Stockton

Kerr vindicated

Defendants in criminal proceedings often claim “vindication” upon acquittal, even when pivotal facts may remain contentious (“Sam Kerr found not guilty”, February 12). The prosecution of Sam Kerr invoked a species of legal proceeding in which no relevant fact is in dispute and an acquittal is true vindication and, in this case, a condemnation of the Crown Prosecution Service. Jonathan Bolton, Annandale

“Oh, poor diddums, did the nasty girl call you stupid and white?” Police officers are probably called names like this and worse every day. It’s hard to believe that this ended in an expensive seven-day trial before a jury. Maybe the real discrimination here is against high-profile sports stars. I doubt that a similar trial would happen for an ordinary member of the public. Dick Pollitt, Mosman

At the time that Sam Kerr was found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer, the Herald carried an opinion piece that the trial should never have happened (“Sam Kerr’s London case should never have gone to trial”, February 12). One didn’t need to be Nostradamus to predict the outcome. One only had to appreciate that conviction for a crime requires proof beyond reasonable doubt and that the evidence in this case could never sustain that. The prosecution was an appalling abuse of power, a wrongly motivated, vengeful hunt. Now it is time for a public inquiry into what took place leading to the decision to prosecute. Ross Drynan, Lindfield

Ideal homes

Ross Gittins is right to point to the different aspects of the cost of housing, but he omits to mention two salient facts (“Home truths that no one can ignore”, February 12). Fifty years ago the average home did not have more than one bathroom, with, perhaps, a separate toilet, and children were expected to share bedrooms. Back then, also, we did not have the same safety laws to protect builders. It is right that workers should be protected by legislation, even if this increases the cost of building. Jennifer Blackman, Wentworthville

Regions come in from the cold

Pamela Shepherd (Letters, February 12) expresses concern that “this current Labor government has been very city-centric in all their thinking and our rural people miss out again”. Well, there is good news. On Tuesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced measures to keep regional and rural bank agencies open, which is something previous governments have failed to do. Then on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced strong support for the regional airline Rex to ensure continuing services to regional areas, including buying the airline if necessary (“Feds will pick up Rex if no buyers emerge”, February 12). No doubt regional and rural folk will be delighted by these regional-centric initiatives by this current Labor government. Warren Marks, Richmond (Tas)

Several of your correspondents have very short attention spans. I refer to the current federal government’s efforts to improve women’s health in regional Australia. Yes, there is an election on the horizon, but how quickly they forget that the previous federal government under several health ministers did absolutely nothing for regional women’s health in their nine years at the helm. Think about Penny Wong’s efforts to right the ship in the Pacific, after nine years of neglect. Let’s call it “asleep at the wheel” under the multi-portfolioed Morrison. The federal government has had three years to fix a mess created by a rabble who will be remembered for COVID (“it’s not a race”), the 2019/2020 summer bushfires (“I don’t hold a hose”), robo-debt (no one has gone to jail yet), a budget deficit each year, just to name a few. If Albanese hasn’t got it done yesterday, some of us want to know why. We really are an impatient lot, aren’t we? Graham McWhirter, Shell Cove

I agree with Pamela Shepherd that governments are very city-centric, while rural areas are ignored. Surely the best example is our Gladys, who went on a huge road-building splurge (plus others) in Sydney as the Liberal premier of NSW. I travelled big miles in country areas during that time and couldn’t believe how even major regional roads had deteriorated. Health and hospitals are also largely a state responsibility, so I don’t understand why Labor gets all the blame. These things don’t happen overnight. Glenys Quirk, Forster

Rex and ruin

It is unlikely that a serious private buyer will emerge to purchase what is left of Rex Airlines (“Feds will pick up Rex if no buyers emerge”, February 12). Rex’s fleet of mainly Saab aircraft is now more than 30 years old, similar to some of the Dash 8 planes flown on regional routes by QantasLink. Whoever ends up owning Rex is going to have to go into the queue to buy/lease a substantial number of new planes to keep the company flying. The airline’s woes are definitely largely of their own making. Instead of leasing expensive planes to challenge Virgin and Qantas for the lucrative eastern seaboard routes, Rex could have progressively updated its fleet, which would have left it in a secure position to continue to service regional and rural Australia. Pauline Croxon, Earlwood

With Rex in trouble I suggest Aldi should take them over. The company has a proven track record against duopolies, plus their centre aisle is always interesting. Neil Browne, Gymea

Home truths

There are no violins from me for your correspondent landlord, who complains about a slim profit margin after accounting for land tax, agent fees, insurance and the like that offset his rental income (Letters, February 12). It always amazes me that landlords who have benefited from the massive capital gains created by Australia’s overheated property market fail to acknowledge this. Kate Lumley, Hurlstone Park

It is not easy to be sympathetic to your rental property owner, who complained about the return he is receiving compared with his expenses. We do not know if the property is negatively geared, but if things are really so bad, he can always sell it to some young person desperately seeking a house and pocket the capital gain, on which the tax will be discounted by 50 per cent. Peter Nash, Fairlight

HECS relief

Young people are terribly overburdened with property prices and HECS debts (“Banks told to ignore student debt when weighing up home loans”, February 12). Some very lateral thinking by governments is desperately needed. What about scrapping HECS for those who stay in their first job for, say, four years? It would be a great incentive. And further scrapping stamp duty altogether for first home buyers at the same time as ending negative gearing for investors, who are clogging up property sales. This could be just the start of a fairer society. Vanessa Tennent, Erskineville

Berry fails pub test

What a shame for the future of Berry that the hotel expansion has not been accepted (“Sydney-looking”: uproar over $10m pub plans”, February 12). The old pub is crying out to be reinvented. Compared to some of the plans for the future of nearby Kiama, the architectural concept seems quite acceptable, and the trees in Princess Street will soon grow higher than the three storeys planned for the new build. I am sure the locals also said the Berry pub itself was “too Sydney” when it was first planned about 160 years ago. Things do change. New ideas must be embraced for the good that will follow. The area needs more tourist accommodation. At the moment, Berry is like a ghost town after 5pm, when all the day trippers have gone. I well remember this community was equally divided as to what side of town the new bypass should be located. Now that it’s finally up and running it’s hard to imagine life in Berry without it, no matter what side of town it ended up on. It seems the NIMBY approach to any sort of change continues to create a very predictable stumbling block for those with fresh, imaginative visions. Greg Vale, Kiama

Judicial failure

After such a blatant episode of seeking to avoid breath testing and dishonestly relocating a damaged vehicle from a crash scene, I was appalled to read of the very light sentencing Inspector AB received from the courts (“Police inspector learns fate after drunken tunnel crash”, February 12).
How can the public have respect for our judicial system when this man is fined a paltry $1500, had his licence disqualified for just six months with a community corrections order for two years. To make it worse, he remains in the police force on a salary of about $130,000 and retained his driver’s licence throughout the lengthy court case. He is a criminal and should be treated as such. Fran Durand, St Ives

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