Zionist doctors keep up their public campaign against healthcare workers whom they perceive to be critical of Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians. Wendy Bacon investigates.
Five weeks after he attended a Palestinian Justice Movement forum in Sydney, Professor Peter Macdonald remains at home, away from heart transplant patients at St Vincent’s Hospital and his laboratory at Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
Macdonald asked a question at the forum in which he shared his view that Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, could be responsible for two antisemitic attacks. He described himself as a cardiologist but did not mention St Vincent’s Hospital.
Antisemitism? St Vincent’s heartless treatment of cardiologist who asked a question
While Macdonald has been subjected to a confidential workplace investigation and is unable to defend himself publicly, the public attacks on him and others continue.
These doctors include Associate Professor Jeremy Goldin, who is a respiratory and sleep physician at St Vincent’s Private Hospitals in Melbourne. According to his LinkedIn profile, Goldin is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, a specialist at private Breathe West clinics in Melbourne’s West and is a contractor for the medical technology company Compumedics.
Jeremy Goldin
Goldin is one of three named members of the Alliance Against Antisemitism in Health Care (AAAHC) who signed a letter calling for Macdonald to be immediately suspended and investigated.
Goldin uses his LinkedIn account for the purposes of posting on both developments in sleep medicine and pro-Israel propaganda.
Around the same time as Goldin lodged the complaint against Macdonald, he reposted a video to his LinkedIn account from the Honest Reporting Instagram account. Honest Reporting is an organisation that describes itself as “Israel’s sword and shield” in the war to control the media narrative in favour of Israel. It is funded internationally but based in West Jerusalem.
The video presenter asks, “What do the Israeli offensive in Gaza City, the Emmy Awards, and the UN Commission report that found Israel has committed genocide have in common?” The answer is “constant lies”. The media “take falsehoods and wrap them in credibility”. It alleges that the UN Commission’s finding that Israel is committing genocide “erases reality” and “cherry pick[s] words” to make them look authoritative.
Three months ago, Goldin reposted a post by Hillel Fuld claiming that there were zero exemptions to the rule that “if someone claims that the IDF intentionally killed a civilian 100% of the time it is a lie.” Fuld was refused a visa to visit Australia on the grounds that he might incite hatred.
Ron Grunstein
Goldin also reposts content from the LinkedIn account of his ally Professor Ron Grunstein. Grunstein uses the name Ron G on his LinkedIn account, but he is recognisable from photos and his detailed CV. He had an honorary appointment in respiratory and sleep medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital for 28 years and is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney, an honorary Professor at Macquarie University and a lead researcher at the Woolcock Institute.
Grunstein believes that if you are anti-Zionist or a critic of Israel, you are anti-semitic.
In a submission to the NSW Parliamentary Committee into antisemitism in August, he wrote, “In my experience, I can assure you when you scratch the surface, they are antisemites who do not want to recognise the centrality of Israel now to Jewish life.“
Grunstein also mixes his professional medical content on LinkedIn with a stream of pro-Israel posts, including one rejecting reports that Israel bombed hospitals and another rejecting reports about starvation and malnutrition in Gaza.
Goldin and Grunstein both reposted an Honest Reporting video accusing media of publishing ‘fake news’ about Israeli attacking those seeking aid at the Gaza Humanitarian Food distribution centres. These reports were verified. Grunstein also posted that humanitarian aid was “flowing into Gaza”.
Grunstein accused Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya of being a “physician terrorist”. Abu Safiya is a pediatrician who ran the Kamal Adwan Medical Center in the Gaza Strip. He reported Israeli attacks while it was being evacuated. He is now imprisoned in the Sde Teiman detention facility, where he has been subjected to torture.
Mocking Famine (as shared by Ron Grunstein)
More attacks on doctors
Ian Lisser is the Industrial Officer for the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF). He uses his LinkedIn account to publicise industrial issues and domestic and international items of interest to medical and other health workers.
Lisser is Jewish and last year signed a Jewish Council of Australia statement opposing the Israeli occupation and the prioritisation of the rights of Jewish people over the rights of Palestinians.
Three weeks ago, Lisser posted the MWM story about Macdonald. He highlighted “interesting questions” that concerned him. “For me professionally, the biggest question these and other recent cases raise is the way codes of conduct and complaints policies can be, and are weaponised against medical staff, the lack of due process and the lack of procedural fairness. This occurs within NSW Health on a regular basis.”
Grunstein then objected to his using his LinkedIn account, and the following exchange occurred in which Lisser set out the scenario raised by the Macdonald case.
Goldin then chimed in with, “Best to focus on the working conditions of healthcare professionals rather than posting your confirmation bias from a propagandist on a platform that is not “media.” (A reference to MWM and the author.)
Lisser commented, “Given weapons of mass destruction, children overboard, sports rorts, and robo debt, psychiatrist pay, caravan bombs and statements on cancer services, I would be cautious about accepting any statement coming from a politician (in government or otherwise).”
Goldin adopted a heavier tone by asking Lisser: “using your LinkedIn to promote conspiracy theories….. how do you think that will work out for you?”
Lisser again explains his perspective: “As for the article, in my view it’s principally not about Dr MacDonald’s question, it’s about the consequences for him and the public health system of him expressing his opinion, whether you agree or disagree with him. It is also about the weaponising of corporate code of conduct and complaints policies, and it’s also about how institutions draw lines between what is private, public and professional.”
Goldin then refers to Israel’s “so-called Genocide” of Palestinians, which has been found to exist by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, as a fantasy. He asks Lisser:
“Can you make an evidence-based case for genocide rather than quoting those conflicted sources who use Hamas Ministry of Health figures and Al Jazeera reports? Any non-conflicted critical thinker who makes evidence-based decisions and understands the biases of people and figures knows that your concept of this so-called genocide is a fantasy.
“It’s used as an excuse for their antisemitism. It’s a fantasy that hateful groups work back from, change the definition and search for confirmation bias in order to justify their opinion. It doesn’t meet the basics of evidence-based thinking. I would suggest, based on your post and the media you seek, that you have little to no knowledge on the subject, draw conclusions, and to put it politely, have a bias! I wonder what ASMOF membership would think and whether your position is viable. Maybe we can engage AAAHC for their advocacy in this area?”
MWM considers that the last words might be a warning that Goldin would mobilise the AAAHC against Lisser. We asked whether, in fact, the Federation had received any letters of complaint from the AAAHC following this comment. The ASMOF declined to comment. MWM has asked Goldin whether AAAHC has been activated against Lissr and will update if a response is received.
St Vincent’s and pro-Israel donors
Goldin and other AAAHC members have accused Peter Macdonald of promoting “false, divisive and racist conspiracy narratives”. They demanded “immediate suspension … an independent investigation, and if facts are confirmed, termination of his association with St Vincent’s.”
St Vincent’s management appeared to meet their demands by publishing a statement describing Macdonald’s comment as reflecting antisemitism, racism, bigotry and hate.
They have refused to answer questions about why they prejudged the issue.
MWM previously reported on St Vincent’s extensive links with pro-Israeli donors and its little-known partnership with Israel’s Shiba hospital.
Where’s Paul? Inside the attack on cardiologist by St Vincent’s and Victor Chang
Two weeks ago, a new collaborative relationship was revealed when St Vincent’s manager and general counsel, Pat Garcia, flew to Melbourne to meet with representatives of Israel’s Hadassah medical organisation. The meeting, which was held at the St Kilda Shule and hosted by Rabbi Glasman, included the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, Hadassah Chief Psychologist, Dr Dhiri Ben David and board members of Hadassah Australia.
Garcia has strong links with NSW Labor. He resigned as Assistant Secretary of NSW Labor in 2019. Previously, he was an advisor to ex-Labor Minister Eric Roozendaal, who is co-convenor of Labor Friends of Israel and served on the executive of the Jewish Board of Deputies. He is a friend of ex Labor Party MP Wal Secord, who supports Israel very strongly, including passing laws to defund organisations that support the BDS.
After the meeting, Hadassah Australia issued a statement, “We are grateful to Pat Garcia, who flew in from Sydney just for this meeting, for joining our dialogue and helping lay the ground for professional collaboration that will give practical expression to this commitment that we share. And we are grateful for recognising the importance of such collaboration, particularly now.”
Hadassah Australia raises funds for the Hadassah hospitals in Israel. It is linked to the Women’s International Zionist Organisation, which opposes the recognition of a Palestinian state. Hadassah Australia is part of a network with the Jewish Medical Association and the AAAHC. Last year, they held a joint event which was addressed by an Israeli medical expert, Professor Mark Clarfield.
MWM asked Garcia questions about whether pursuing links with an Israeli organisation linked to the AAAHC could add to perceptions of bias that have already been created by St Vincent’s earlier media statement. St Vincent’s declined to comment.
The largest single donation in Hadassah’s history was made by the Gandel Foundation, one of Australia’s biggest philanthropic foundations, when it funded Hadassah’s Gandel Rehabilitation unit, which opened in 2024. At its opening, Melbourne property developer John Gandel said, “When it comes to supporting the people and the State of Israel, we always saw it as our duty and obligation to strengthen the homeland and help this country.”
Earlier, Gandel, commenting on Israel’s war on Gaza, told the Financial Review that “There’s sort of no choice. If they (IDF) don’t go all out, it means they withdraw. They can’t do it gently. I only hope [support for Israel] doesn’t get too bad. Obviously, there is a fairly big element of the Muslim or Arab [community], ready to bounce up.”
Israel supporters, from doctors to philanthropists, aim to silence opposition to Israel. The question for St Vincent’s Health is this: Is it prepared to forgo the services of a top cardiologist to placate those who seek to achieve their aim by weaponising antisemitism?
Wendy Bacon is an investigative journalist who was the Professor of Journalism at UTS. She worked for Fairfax, Channel Nine and SBS and has published in The Guardian, New Matilda, City Hub and Overland. She has a long history in promoting independent and alternative journalism.
She is a long-term supporter of a peaceful BDS and the Greens.