Published: 16 July 2024
Last updated: 16 July 2024
The race discrimination complaint lodged against broadcaster Mary Kostakidis is a landmark attempt by the Jewish community to defend itself against a rising tide of hate.
The complaint has the potential to define a point where attacks on Israel become attacks on Jews that breach Australian law.
The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), through its CEO Alon Casutto, lodged a complaint on Sunday with the Australian Human Rights Commission. The complaint cites Kostakidis for sharing a speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in which he said Jews have no place in “the land of Palestine”.
The Kostakidis complaint is not an attempt to stop criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza – or any other aspect of Israeli policy.
It is a targeted use of the law to sanction a threat to Jews in the hope of establishing an outer limit on legal discourse in Australia.
The case rests of the reasonable claim that Australian Jews and/or Australian-Israelis (Casutto is both) are reasonably offended and intimidated by a threat to expel Jews from Israel.
It is a good test case for several reasons. Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation, so its chief Nasrallah clearly sits beyond the bounds of the acceptable in Australia. His statement was televised so there can be no doubt as to its exact wording.
“Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” is a threat to the Jewish population of Israel and, by extension, an attack on Jews everywhere.
