The Zionist Federation of Australia’s legal assault on Israel critic and journalist Mary Kostakidis was financed by the Israeli war machine via the World Zionist Organisation. Investigation by Stephanie Tran and Michael West.
The Zionist Federation of Australia’s chief executive Alon Cassuto has dropped his case against Mary Kostakidis. The ZFA is the Australian arm of the World Zionist Organisation. The World Zionist Organisation has a settlement division which is responsible for expanding illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – in contravention of international law.
It also has extensive ties to United Israel Appeal (UIA) and Jewish National Fund (JNF), organisations which
raise funds for the IDF and illegal settlements.
The Zionist Federation of Australia, whose chief executive Alon Cassuto brought a racial discrimination case against former SBS journalist Mary Kostakidis, is financially dependent on the World Zionist Organization and Keren Hayesod for the majority of its revenue, according to the Federation’s latest financial report. Cassuto is paid by the ZFA which is in turn funded by the WZO.
The ZFA’s 2025 financial report, states that the organisation is “dependent on the funding from the World Zionist Organization and Keren Hayesod for the majority of its revenue used to operate the business”.
The ‘charity’ warchest
The report says the directors “have no reason to believe that the World Zionist Organisation and Keren Hayesod will not continue to support Zionist Federation of Australia Limited.”
The financial statements show that the ZFA received $3.44m in total revenue in 2025, compared with $3.61m the previous year. Of that 2025 total, $1.61m was recorded as revenue and a further $1.746m as subsidies. It is cashed up, with a war chest approaching $5m.
The report does not disclose the source of the subsidies nor does it identify the precise amount ZFA received from either Keren Hayesod or the World Zionist Organization during 2025.
The ZFA has declined to respond to questions as to whether it also received ‘security funding’ from ECAJ public grants.
The ZFA did not respond to questions about the precise amounts it received from the World Zionist Organization and Keren Hayesod, or whether any of that funding was connected to the organisation’s legal action against Kostakidis.
Kostakidis’s law firm XD Law on X
Peak Zionist body
The ZFA describes itself as the peak body for Zionist organisations in Australia and represents more than 200 affiliated organisations.
The Federation also maintains an office in Israel. In 2025, the ZFA spent $190,189 on its Israel office.
The ZFA’s directors in 2025 included president Jeremy Leibler, treasurer Benjamin Simon, secretary Lauren Blecher, vice-presidents Paul Gould, Jeffery Lin, Ehud Hauben and Elyse Schachna, and immediate past president Danny Lamm.
The Federation’s principal activity, according to its directors, was to “uphold and foster the aim of Zionism”.
The ZFA is the Australian branch of the World Zionist Organization, which describes national Zionist federations as umbrella organisations for Zionist bodies in each country.
The WZO has a direct role in Israeli settlement activity.
According to reports by Israeli advocacy organisation Peace Now, the Israeli government “finances and operates the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization”.
Established in 1971, the Settlement Division of the WZO has enabled Israel to “establish and develop settlements far from the public eye, using controversial means, with full funding from the state and without any oversight or control.”
Ties to UIA and JNF
The ZFA’s constitution also commits the organisation to supporting the fundraising activities of the “National Funds”, defined as Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund.
The constitution states that one of the Federation’s objects is “to support the fundraising activities of the National Funds”.
It also requires state Zionist councils to work with Keren Hayesod’s state directorates to ensure the “maximum success” of United Israel campaigns.
The constitution further states that, state Zionist councils must “stipulate that all its member Zionist Organisations commit their members to fulfilling their obligations towards the National Funds and stipulate that all members of its Executive shall have an obligation to take part in the work of the National Funds”
Investigations by MWM have found that United Israel Appeal and the Jewish National Fund are among a number of Australian charities that are raising tax-deductible funds for programs supporting the IDF and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Millions in tax-deductible donations to IDF, illegal settlements
The Federation has also publicly rejected international legal findings that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
It described a UN commission of inquiry report alleging Israel committed genocide in Gaza as “a baseless and biased assault on truth and justice”, and rejected the ICJ’s advisory opinion as “politically driven” and “deeply flawed”.
United Israel Appeal. Charity channels tax free donations direct to IDF soldiers
Stephanie is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.
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.