Kostakidis issues apology

In the latest chapter of a dispute since July last year between former SBS presenter Mary Kostakidis and Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) chief executive Alon Cassuto, Kostakidis made an apology on X on January 3 for having shared a video of now deceased former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in which he had said there was no place for Jews “from the river to the sea”.

But the matter – which has been before the Australian Human Rights Commission for the last six months following a complaint issued by Cassuto, and has not been resolved after a mediation session – may not be over.

In her apology, Kostakidis claimed she condemns antisemitism and racism of any kind, and added, “I did not, and do not, endorse the content of the speech made by Hassan Nasrallah, which I shared on my X account on 4 and 13 January 2024. I accept that some of his comments may be seen as antisemitic, but that is not a barrier to reporting them.

“To the Jews and/or Israelis in Australia who took my posts as an edorsement, I am sorry for their hurt, distress and pain.”

Cassuto, in a statement released last week, while acknowledging the apology by Kostakidis, claimed that she did so, “while continuing to regularly post deeply offensive content, including conspiracy theories about the firebombed Adass synagogue in Melbourne.

“As a result, I am considering my options,” he said.

“Let’s be clear about what Ms Kostakidis’ statement does say: when Hassan Nasrallah declared here you don’t have a future, from the river to the sea, Palestine is for the Palestinians only, it was antisemitic hate speech. Echoing such calls in Australia constitutes unlawful hate speech.

“We [the ZFA] will continue to stand for our community and hold those promoting or engaged in hate speech to account.”