‘All Zionists are terrorists’ chant found unlawful 

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found that leading the chant “All Zionists are terrorists” at a Melbourne CBD rally amounted to racial and religious vilification of Jewish people.

The ruling follows a case brought by Melbourne man Menachem Vorchheimer, who argued the slogan crossed the line from political protest into unlawful hate speech.

The Tribunal agreed, finding the chant had the effect of inciting hatred against Jewish people.

The Jewish Centre for Law and Justice welcomed the decision, saying it “draws an important line in the sand” and makes clear that antizionist rhetoric can, in certain contexts, amount to racial vilification.

Vorchheimer said the outcome affirms that freedom of speech in Australia “is not absolute” and does not extend to serious racial or religious vilification.