Zionist Federation of Australia attempts to have journalist prosecuted over pro-Palestine views

The CEO of a pro-Israel group in Australia on Sunday revealed he had filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission accusing a pro-Palestine Australian commentator and journalist of reportedly "breaching" racial discrimination laws in posts on social media.

Alon Cassuto, who heads the Zionist Federation of Australia, accused Mary Kostakidis in a statement of sharing "extreme propaganda" on her social media, including a "Hamas pamphlet" that allegedly sought to "justify" the 7 October attacks.

The CEO revealed the complaints are related to Kostakdis sharing a speech by Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, where he used the phrase "from the river to the sea, the land of Palestine is for the Palestinian people – and the Palestinian people only".

While the phrase is used by pro-Palestine activists to call for a free Palestine and an end to the Israeli occupation, Cassuto claimed the phrase refers to "the ethnic cleansing of the seven million Jews who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea".

The CEO said it was "irresponsible and dangerous" for Kostakidis to use her "influence and authority to repeat calls by a terrorist for Jews to be ethnically cleansed 'from the river to the sea'", claiming this conduct reproduces overseas conflict in Australia.

Kostakidis shared a response on X, denouncing the complaint and accusing the federation of trying to "silence" her in an attempt to frame her as a "rape and Holocaust denier".

Speaking to The Guardian Australia, Kostakidis said the complaint was "completely misconstruing" her posts and that she was not promoting the speech but was informing people.

The commentator said as a journalist, it is her responsibility to show people what one side is saying.

Cassuto also mentions the journalist's articles where Kostakidis wrote about the absence of credible evidence surrounding the claims of widespread rape by Hamas on 7 October, labelling them as "conspiracy theories".

Kostakidis asserted that there was "no evidence of systematic rape" and referenced the UN investigation into the subject, which she said also found no evidence of widespread sexual assault during the attacks.

The CEO's lawyers have requested that Kostakidis say what she did was unlawful and apologise to the Australian Jewish community, to which they have not yet received a response.