Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Former TV Newsreader Dropped

A court case against former Australian TV newsreader Mary Kostakidis has been dropped. The case was about posts she made on social media about the war between Israel and Gaza. A Jewish organization had claimed her posts were offensive to Jewish Australians. The case was filed in Australia's Federal Court in South Australia last year.

The lawsuit was brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), a group that supports Jewish and Israeli causes. Its chief executive, Alon Cassuto, started the legal action in 2024. He said Kostakidis's posts were likely to offend, insult, and humiliate Jewish Australians. The ZFA believed the posts counted as antisemitism under an international definition that Australia has accepted.

The posts in question came from Kostakidis's account on X, the social media platform. She shared a video of Hassan Nasrallah, the late leader of Hezbollah, which is an armed group in the Middle East. In the video, Nasrallah told Jews to leave Israel and said they had no future there. Kostakidis added a caption that read: 'The Israeli govt getting some of its own medicine.'

Her lawyer argued the posts were not antisemitic under the law. The lawyer said the posts were aimed at the Israeli government, not at Jewish people in general. Both sides eventually agreed to end the case. The court ruled that the lawsuit be discontinued, meaning neither side had to pay the other's legal costs.

Despite dropping the case, Cassuto said his goals had been substantially satisfied. He said he filed the lawsuit to get recognition of the harm the posts caused to ordinary Jewish Australians. He noted that Kostakidis had apologized for any distress she caused. However, he said the apology did not show a change in the way she spoke about the issue in public.

Kostakidis said she was happy with the result and called it a win for free speech. She said journalism's job is to find the truth and hold powerful people accountable. She thanked Australians who supported her and helped her fight the case. She also thanked Jewish and Israeli people around the world who she said stood with her.

Kostakidis was a well-known face on Australian television for many years. She hosted SBS World News from 1987 to 2007, making her one of the most recognized journalists in the country. In recent years, she has spoken out strongly against the actions of the Israeli government. Her social media posts on the Israel-Gaza war have made her a controversial figure in public debate.