The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) announced on September 11 that it was dropping its Federal Court case against journalist Mary Kostakidis.

It had alleged the former SBS World News presenter was an antisemite, because of a social media post she had made.

ZFA CEO Alon Cassuto said he was dropping the case, lodged in March 31 last year.

The ZFA said Cassuto sought to stop Kostakidis posting, but he was not successful. However, he is now “satisfied” by what he has achieved and is going to focus on the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. This ended a complaint Cassuto first lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission in July 2024, which charged Kostakidis with having discriminated against Jewish people because of her criticism of Israel.

The court ruled on September 11, with each party’s consent, that the case be dismissed with no order on costs.

This is not a unique attempt to silence critics of Israel over its genocide in Gaza. Zionists have been using lawfare to intimidate critics into silence since 2023.

Kostakidis explained how this operates in an article she wrote after the case had been closed.

“Over two years ago, in July 2024, in the midst of Israel’s genocidal assault on a captive people, a self-described ‘proud Zionist’ launched legal proceedings against me in the Australian Human Rights Commission — a requirement under Australian law before filing in the Federal Court under Racial Discrimination legislation when AHRC mediation fails.”

She said........

© Green Left Weekly