Federal Court Dismisses ZFA Case Against Journalist Mary Kostakidis by Consent

Federal court proceedings brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) against journalist Mary Kostakidis have been discontinued “by consent” with “no order as to costs”.

The former SBS newsreader had been accused by the federation of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) by sharing two X posts about a speech by the late Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in January 2024.

Last year, Kostakidis had asked the court to strike the proceedings out, arguing the claim failed to identify which race, ethnicity or nationality was offended by her social media posts about Israel.

The chief executive of the ZFA, Alon Cassuto, had alleged the breach came when Kostakidis shared a video of a speech by Nasrallah on X and added: “The Israeli govt getting some of its own medicine. Israel has started something it can’t finish with this genocide.”

A second post sharing the same video was also part of the claim. The complaint was first raised with the Australian Human Rights Commission but escalated to the federal court.

The court said on Friday that the case had been dismissed with the agreement of both parties.

Kostakidis said in a statement she had spent “two years doing nothing but preparing my defence in a case aimed at silencing me” and the discontinuation was a “win for every Australian who values our democratic right to freedom of political expression”.

“I want to thank my fellow Australians who recognised the significance of what we stand to lose, stood with me and stepped up to assist me to launch my defence,” she said.

“The purpose of journalism is to get to the truth - fearlessly - and to hold power to account. This is a win for press freedom, which has prevailed.

“Watching a people livestream their own genocide while the international community responsible for creating this mess offers the victims sympathy and the perpetrators bombs, diplomatic cover and impunity, has been disgusting.”

In a statement published on Friday, Cassuto said his objectives in bringing the proceedings had been “substantially satisfied” after a public apology by Kostakidis in 2025 for the “hurt, distress and pain” felt by Jews and Israelis in Australia who took her posts “as an edorsement”.

“An important reason I brought this matter was to seek recognition of the harm these posts caused ordinary Jewish Australians,” he said.

“Given everything Ms Kostakidis has chosen to publish since her apology, a further apology compelled by a court would ring hollow.

“The issues that motivated me to bring this proceeding are being examined in the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion. The commissioner’s report will be handed down in December following a national examination of how antisemitism became so normalised in Australia.”

Cassuto added: “Ms Kostakidis can make her own accounting of her conduct. The Australian public can make theirs. I do not intend to spend another year taking Ms Kostakidis’ repugnant commentary from the dark corners of the internet and giving it a federal court platform in her pursuit of martyrdom. My job here is done.”