The finding in the Federal Court that Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking from the ABC was unlawful is a great win the for the Free Palestine movement in Australia.

In his decision, Justice Rangiah found that Antoinette’s termination was a violation of Fair Work Act protections covering the expression of political speech at work. Importantly, the court found that public expression of political views is also protected.

This is an important precedent that helps us to push back against attempts to silence pro-Palestine voices using the tactics of lawfare. Justice Rangiah’s comment that the ABC’s failure to defend Antoinette showed the broadcaster had “abjectly surrendered” to external pressure should also give us heart. In a climate where advocacy for Palestine and opposition to the Israeli genocide in Gaza is met with institutional and legal repression, the Lattouf case affirms our right to speak out and challenges the chilling effect of censorship.

In December 2023, Antoinette was dismissed three days into a week-long shift on ABC Radio after an intense campaign against her by group of Zionist lawyers who had organised in a WhatsApp chat to target the ABC with legally-threatening emails. While Antoinette has now received around $220,000 in compensation, she has always maintained the case was about freedom of expression. Justice Rangiah agreed, saying the ABC’s “primary motivation” for sacking Antoinette was to shield the corporation from criticism from Zionist lobbying.

However, the fight is not yet over. Journalist Mary Kostakidis is also fighting for her right to speak on Palestine in the Federal Court. The Zionist Federation of Australia has accused Mary of antisemitism over a post on X and is now suing her for racial discrimination after unsuccessful mediation by the Human Rights Commission. Mary’s repost contained extracts of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (who was subsequently murdered by Israel) and commentary to the effect that Israel would no longer be welcome in the region.

Mary argues she was acting journalistically in posting information in the public interest. The Zionist Federation’s Alon Casuto argues that by reposting the tweet, Mary was making antisemitic comments. However, Mary’s legal team is arguing that criticism of Israel is not antisemitic.

This is at the heart of the issue of free speech in relation to Gaza, Palestine and the actions of Israel. The Free Palestine movement has always argued that political and social criticism of Israel, the Israeli Government and Israeli individuals is not automatically antisemitic when it concerns their political and military actions or social conditions such as the existence of apartheid within Israel itself.

However, Mary’s case received a boost on the same day as the Lattouf decision was handed down. The journalists’ union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) National Media Section committee issued a strong statement of support for Mary and other media workers under attack from the Zionist lobby. It said:

“The Media Entertainment Arts Alliance has long fought for media freedoms, rebuking censorship and calling for access to information.

“Since 7 October, MEAA has seen a rise in threats, harassment, and intimidation of journalists who report and comment on Gaza.

“High-profile journalists including Antoinette Lattouf, Peter Lalor and Mary Kostakidis have found themselves dismissed, censored and harassed by powerful lobby groups, who seek to undermine press freedom.

“When reporting, MEAA journalists are subject to the code of ethics, who in their professional capacity, often provide critical commentary on political warfare. These are the tenets of democracy.

“Our colleagues across the entertainment and arts sectors are also facing censorship on Australian stages and screens.

“We stand with our colleagues in their workplaces, in the courtrooms, and in their deaths to raise our voices against the silence.”

As well as mentioning Mary, Antoinette and the sacked sports broadcaster Peter Laylor, the statement acknowledges that anti-Palestine censorship extends across the entertainment and arts sector. Pianist Jayson Gillham had a contract to perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra torn up over dedicating a piece of music to Gaza. Rank-and-file MEAA members working at the Melbourne Arts Centre and other venues have also been warned via all-staff emails that they are not to make any comment on Jayson’s case or any other discipline action against artists, musicians or staff.

The Federal Court decision in the Lattouf case puts these employers and others on notice that censorship of workers’ speech rights is unlawful. It is important that we move to take advantage of this breach in Zionist lawfare to push back against repressive measures in the arts sector, on university campuses and in our workplaces. Last weekend, the Victorian Socialists hosted a public meeting in Brunswick Town Hall with over 120 people attending. Mary spoke, alongside former Guardian journalist Antoun Issa and Ohad Kozminsky of the Australian Jewish Council. The meeting was supported by the Melbourne branch of PEN International and the Socialists in MEAA caucus. The event was recorded by Consortium News and is available for viewing and download.

One key message from the public meeting was that we have to challenge institutions that have or are planning to adopt a version of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism. The IHRA statement explicitly condemns any political criticism of Israel as antisemitism and protects Zionists from any accountability for the genocide in Gaza. In firmly rejecting this repressive attack on our speaking rights, we have to acknowledge that free speech is an important terrain of struggle for the Free Palestine movement. It’s an ongoing struggle in the media, the arts sector and in academia.

While we can take comfort in the Federal Court decision and the statement from the MEAA, we must also take advantage of the current situation to push back harder. Recent unauthorised (by the Fair Work Commission) industrial action by members of the Australian Services Union in Melbourne is a good example of what we can and must do. More than 100 ASU members took unprotected strike action and walked off the job on 10 September and were supported by 1000 people at a rally outside Victorian Trades Hall. While a relatively small action, ASU members have shown what’s possible with defiance and determination. It is time to take up this fight and stand up for our right to call out genocide, to critique the apartheid state of Israel and hold Israeli leaders accountable for their ongoing war crimes in Gaza.

Our freedom of speech is non-negotiable.

Free Palestine.

[Disclosure: Marty Hirst is a founding member of Socialists in MEAA and a long-term socialist activist in Melbourne.]

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.