‘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.

A further hearing will determine what consequences, if any, will be imposed.

Vorchheimer said he had commenced legal proceedings in 2024 out of fear that inflammatory words left unchecked would lead to violence.

“That fear was tragically realised at Bondi, where Jews celebrating Chanukah were targeted in a terrorist massacre — 15 murdered, 41 hospitalised with gunshot wounds,” he said.

Vorchheimer said he had at every stage offered the respondents a simple resolution: an affirmation that protest has limits, that seriously vilifying others is unlawful, and that targeting Jews or Jewish institutions over a foreign conflict is wrong and has no place in Australia.

“Those offers were refused. Instead, I was threatened with costs and subjected to relentless personal attacks,” he said.

“Today’s decision affirms a truth that should never have been controversial: freedom of speech in Australia is not absolute. It does not extend to serious racial or religious vilification.”

Vorchheimer said he particularly welcomed the finding that the chant “was intended by Mr Tayeh to be directed against, at a minimum, all supporters of the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state” and “extended well beyond his claimed purpose of protesting” Israel’s war in Gaza.

“This case reflects the fragile reality Australian Jews live with — why armed guards stand at our schools and synagogues.  Silence was not an option and I will continue to stand up where Governments and authorities fail to uphold the law,” Vorchheimer told The AJN.

Jewish Centre for Law and Justice CEO Alessandra Steele said the Tribunal’s ruling draws an important line in the sand.

“For most Jewish Australians, Zionism is a core component of Jewish identity, grounded in strong cultural, religious and familial connections to Israel,” she said.

Steele said the language and behaviour seen at a number of protests had contributed to an environment of hostility and division affecting the Jewish community.

“In recent months we have seen an escalation in harassment, intimidation and violence directed at Jewish Australians, culminating in horrific incidents such as the Bondi terror attack last year,” she said.

“Labelling an entire group of people as terrorists serves to reverse victim and perpetrator, inciting hatred and division.”

Vorchheimer said the case underscored the fragile environment in which Australian Jews live, pointing to the armed guards at Jewish schools, childcare centres, synagogues and community institutions as evidence of an ongoing threat.

“I stepped forward because silence was not an option. The law still matters. And ordinary Australians can stand up,” he said.

A directions hearing on 25 March will determine what, if any, orders should be made against Tayeh.