Jeffrey Epstein, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Jimmy Carter, Noam Chomski, Hassan Nasrallah and Gideon Levy are but a few of the names in the Federal Court showdown. Kim Wingerei and Michael West report on Cassuto v Kostakidis.
The cost is likely to run into millions and the case may not even be heard by the end of next year, according to the lawyers. Such is the vast breadth of the subject material in evidence, spanning the history of Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Mossad, Jeffrey Epstein, the international courts and the nature of Judaism versus Zionism.
Former SBS News presenter Mary Kostakidis has filed her Defence in the Federal Court to the racial vilification claim bought against her by CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Alon Cassuto in the Federal Court.
Cassuto first launched the action against Kostakidis in July 2024, claiming a series of Kostakidis tweets (and retweets) were “likely to offend, insult, humiliate and/or intimidate Jewish Australians and/or Israeli Australians,” and are therefore in contravention of Paragraph 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.
In his (amended) claim, filed last week, Cassuto implies that the offence is felt by “the vast majority of Israeli Australians”.
That is only one of the many controversial assertions Justice McDonald has been asked to adjudicate upon. Kostakidis, who denies any wrongdoing (and has already apologised to avert costly legal action), tweeted on aspects of the Gaza War that have been subject to extensive, worldwide scrutiny, including by the International Criminal Court, which has declared Israel’s actions in Gaza akin to genocide.
McDonald will also have to decide whether Hamas or Israel really want the other obliterated, to what degree Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation or a resistance movement, which of the reports of the October 7 attacks are true, and if alleged attacks on synagogues in Australia were caused by antisemitism or not.
Even Jeffrey Epstein’s Israel connections may be debated in an Australian court, because Cassuto is offended by such conspiracy theories.
Racial Discrimination Act put to test in Mary Kostakidis case
Kostakidis’ defence
Mary Kostakidis’ defence is 30 pages of having to refute the irrefutable. The particulars of the case include 61 of her tweets and retweets between October 2023 and March 2025. In general, they highlight the lies, hypocrisy and endless misinformation about the war in Gaza, and include uncomfortable truths about the obvious parallels between the persecution of Palestinians and the Holocaust.
Obvious to anyone but extreme Zionists, that is.
And there’s the rub. What are Cassuto and the Zionist Federation trying to achieve? Is it to get an Australian court to rule that Zionism equals Judaism, and that Israel’s might is not just right, but unimpeachable?
Are they using the flaws in the Racial Discrimination Act to persecute their own political narrative, not just to justify the Gaza genocide, but to silence its critics?
The Kostakidis defence states: “These proceedings have been instituted as part of a deliberate campaign to undermine and discredit the Respondent, a prominent Australian who, since 7 October 2023, has questioned and been critical of the conduct of the State of Israel,
in order to cause a chilling effect on her and others to silence them.
Lawyer Mark Davis, who is defending Kostakidis, told MWM, “Mary Kostakidis is on the front line, but this could happen to anybody. Anybody on Twitter or Facebook could be standing shocked before a Federal Court, going through all of the Facebook posts you’ve ever made to see whether they give context to a claim.”
The Racial Discrimination Act literally allows anyone to sue if they feel offended, regardless of whether what is said is true.
Many Australians will wonder why public money is being spent on such court actions, on the perils of their own ‘free speech’ online, and why, in a world where daily across social media Zionists label pro-Pal off as terrorists and anti-Zionists call Zionists baby killers and Nazis, one woman has been singled out. Mary Kostakidis.
This is a devastating court action.
Zionists v Keane, Riemer, Kostakidis. Australia’s massive test cases for free speech
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.