{"id":87247,"date":"2026-09-03T14:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/87247\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T14:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:20:14","slug":"ranzcp-president-elect-angelo-virgona-steps-aside-amid-review-into-social-media-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/87247\/","title":{"rendered":"RANZCP president-elect Angelo Virgona steps aside amid review into social media posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The incoming president of the \u00adnation\u2019s peak psychiatry body has \u201csincerely apologised\u201d to the \u00adcollege and stood down from his position, pending a review into \u00adsocial media posts he shared criticising the \u201cIsrael Lobby\u201d and rubbishing antisemitism<\/a> training on the grounds Jewish people would be considered \u201cspecial\u201d.<\/p>\n

Angelo Virgona said he would step down from his positions as the president-elect and board member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists on Thursday following questions from The Australian. <\/p>\n

The Sydney-based psychiatrist said he would co-operate \u201cfully\u201d with the RANZCP as it conducts its review into a series of posts and reposts he made to X in the months following the Bondi Beach terror attack<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am aware that certain activity in my personal X account has led to complaints by members of the RANZCP,\u201d Dr Virgona said in a statement to The Australian.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sincerely apologise to the board, the membership and our team that these personal activities have brought attention and caused distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it is also embarrassing and distressing that this takes focus away from our role as an excellent training, education and advocacy organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny suggestion or inference that I am antisemitic is false and will be vigorously defended, but I agree it is entirely appropriate for the social media activity to be formally reviewed by the college.\u201d<\/p>\n

The posts to his X account, which has since been suspended, prompted senior healthcare professionals to speak out about the importance of the RANZCP being a temperate and impartial voice for the profession.<\/p>\n

The posts came to light after the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard of rampant antisemitism in the healthcare sector, with Jewish patients and staff revealing how they tried to keep their identities hidden out of fear of reprisals at their work or during treatment. <\/p>\n

Dr Virgona was set to be president of the RANZCP in May\u00a02027 and reportedly took down the posts shortly before his account was suspended, as concerns about his social media activity rippled through the health community.<\/p>\n

According to records shared with The Australian, which were also sent this month to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Dr Virgona reposted Nine Newspaper cartoonist Cathy Wilcox\u2019s controversial royal commission item three times in the month after the Bondi Beach terror attack. <\/p>\n

The Australian Press Council later ruled the cartoon conveyed \u201cantisemitic tropes\u201d. <\/p>\n

In his own posts, Dr Virgona announced he attended the Sydney Town Hall protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, writing on February 9: \u201cThis visit has been a dreadful blunder, a gross error of misjudgment, caving in to extreme zionist pressure, politicising the tragedy for their own ends. Antizionism is not antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also commented on a separate post as recently as August 1 criticising special envoy Jillian Segal\u2019s efforts to roll out antisemitism training across key sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is dumb, govt should steer clear of this advice. All sector \u2018Mandatory training\u2019 will go down like a lead balloon, not lead to cohesion but to Jewish folk being seen as \u2018special\u2019 and \u2018different\u2019. It would be a serious policy error,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Dr Virgona used the same X account to comment on psychiatry matters and often tagged the RANZCP in posts about the field, according to records shared with The Australian. <\/p>\n

He reported content criticising the establishment of the Bondi royal commission and Ms Segal\u2019s promotion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which has been formally adopted by the national health regulation agency.<\/p>\n

Posts criticising the \u201cIsrael Lobby\u201d and praising Wilcox for \u201cnailing the fact these calls for a royal commission are in fact a racist, Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian, pro-Israeli genocide crusade\u201d were shared by his account.<\/p>\n

He also reposted a copy of Wilcox\u2019s cartoon with the caption: \u201cI\u00a0see the Israel Lobby has begun howling about this cartoon, rolling out the usual cries of antisemitism. It\u2019s nothing of the sort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional content reported by Dr Virgona suggested Anthony Albanese would be \u201cout of touch\u201d if he listened to calls from the \u201cZionist lobby\u201d, Gina Rinehart, the Coalition and sport stars to establish a royal commission into the Bondi attack. <\/p>\n

It is understood RANZCP members recently became aware of his social media activity \u2013 after his election as president \u2013 through an industry group chat.<\/p>\n

Dr Virgona has worked as a psychiatrist since 1990 and he was elected to the RANZCP board in May 2024. He was due to hold the role of president from next May until May 2029. <\/p>\n

His decision to step aside while the review is conducted has thrown the RANZCP into more disarray. An unrelated review into president Astha Tomar\u2019s decision to attend a Labor fundraising dinner has stirred discontent among members after the college rejected on technical grounds members\u2019 requests to hold an extraordinary general meeting to decide on the terms of membership-called reviews.<\/p>\n

Australian Zionist Healthcare Alliance president Deborah Bell, said Jewish healthcare professionals had seen \u201cconcerning\u201d content shared by colleagues in the field, but not from someone so senior. \u201cWhat\u2019s significant about him, I think, is his position in the community and the fact that he\u2019s president-elect of an Australasian college,\u201d Dr Bell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s deeply concerning to see him repeatedly share material that the Press Council has (later) deemed antisemitic, particularly at a time when there\u2019s been a Jewish massacre and a royal commission on antisemitism. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone that clearly has such obvious biases and is prepared to post and re-post \u2026 controversial comments like that \u2013 their (suitability) for a senior role in the\u00a0medical community definitely has to be questioned. I think it\u2019s definitely worthy of an investigation and I would have grave concerns to see him leading one of our medical colleges, as I\u2019m sure many Jewish doctors, patients and decent Aust\u00adralians would think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Bell said the role of president was considered an endorsement of the person\u2019s \u201cstanding in the medical community\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn that basis, I would have great reservations about his fitness for the role\u201d.<\/p>\n

National Association of Practising Psychiatrists president and RANZCP member Philip Morris said the president should be seen by colleagues and the public as \u201ctemperate\u201d and \u201cthoughtful\u201d, with the desire to \u201cbring people together and not to divide and express extreme views\u201d.<\/p>\n

The president represents the college to government bodies and must deal with all \u201cpolitical persuasions\u201d, Dr Morris said, adding: \u201cWe want someone who\u2019s very clearly got a sense of propriety and professional judgment leading the college\u201d. He described Dr Virgona\u2019s \u00adsocial media activity as \u201cdisappointing\u201d but commended him for taking down his posts, which included a comment labelling One Nation leader Pauline Hanson a \u201cnumbskull\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that shows some degree of awareness that maybe he was doing things that were less than appropriate for someone who\u2019s going to take over as college president,\u201d Dr Morris said.<\/p>\n

In a statement provided to The Australian, an RANZCP spokesman said the college was \u201caware of concerns relating to social media activity of president-elect Dr Angelo Virgona\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe college takes such matters extremely seriously and immediately commenced a review following member complaints, in line with the college\u2019s policies and processes. Dr Virgona has notified the college that he will step aside as president-elect and a board member while this review is under way. While personal social media accounts do not represent the views of the college, the RANZCP expects all members, including office bearers and directors, to \u00adengage respectfully and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

A similar message was sent out to RANZCP members. <\/p>\n

Read related topics:Israel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The incoming president of the \u00adnation\u2019s peak psychiatry body has \u201csincerely apologised\u201d to the \u00adcollege and stood 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