A comprehensive investigation by The Australian revealed ongoing mistreatment and harassment of Jewish patients and staff at hospitals in Australia, such as repeated, painful, failed attempts to insert an IV, for example. It’s an easy way to torture a patient while pretending to have a hard time finding a vein.

“It is an easy way to make someone suffer, and there is always an explanation: ‘I couldn’t find the vein,'” said Nurit Haddad, a mental-health nurse in New South Wales, who said she had heard such stories several times.

This was the case for Charlotte Frajman, the daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, who said that when a Muslim nurse saw her religion listed as Jewish, it took her four attempts to insert an IV, leaving painful and extensive bruising. She alleged that similar incidents happened at other hospitals.

Orit Brand, an Israeli patient, said that staff took over after eight unsuccessful IV insertion attempts. While deliberate mistreatment could not be proved, hospital staff said that the nurse failed to follow protocol, exceeding the allowed number of unsuccessful attempts.

In another harrowing example, a woman who delivered a baby via cesarean section was left for hours without pain medication in a pool of her own blood while her baby cried beside her. When a nurse finally came to assist her, she performed her duties with harshness.

Jewish staff, such as doctors, nurses and medical students, also reported harassment and intimidation. Many did not report it out of fear of retaliation, and those who spoke to The Australian did so anonymously out of fear of hurting their careers.

The report further alleged that staff who challenged the genocide narrative or pointed out that Hamas operated out of hospitals in Gaza faced disciplinary proceedings, whereas those who espoused a pro-Hamas narrative at the workplace were left alone.

The report also took the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to task for failing to respond adequately to these complaints.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry reacted to the investigation on X.

“This investigation paints a deeply troubling picture and should serve as a wake-up call,” the ministry wrote Sunday. “We call upon the Australian government to confront antisemitism forcefully. Every reluctance, every excuse, and every failure to act sends extremists the same message: they can keep pushing the boundaries. No Jew should ever feel compelled to hide their identity to receive medical care in an Australian hospital.”

The investigation took place against the backdrop of two medical workers who had been suspended after telling an Israeli influencer that they would kill Jews under their care, and one of them hinted that he had done so. A judge later ruled the video inadmissible as evidence because it was obtained in violation of local surveillance laws. That decision has been appealed.