Cases over chant to be heard

Civil proceedings against rally organisers accused of vilifying Jews by saying or allowing others to chant “all Zionists are terrorists” will proceed to a full hearing in December.

This follows the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) dismissing multiple applications to halt the cases last Friday.

Melbourne Jewish community activist Menachem Vorchheimer has brought cases under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act against the former owner of the Burgertory chain of restaurants, Hash Tayeh; Nasser Mashni, who heads the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN); and activist group Free Palestine Melbourne.

They attempted to strike out or stay the proceedings, but VCAT found there was legal merit and a serious question to be determined.

Vorchheimer said, “The tribunal did not accept those legal arguments and refused the application. What we’ve been able to do is really fine-tune the legal arguments.”