Members of a pro-Israel lobby group who filed a complaint against Antoinette Lattouf with the ABC have faced harassment and online vilification after initiating contempt proceedings against Nine newspapers, the federal court has heard. The alleged harassment on social media platform X allegedly resumed following a court hearing in June, where the members accused editors, reporters, and lawyers from Nine of violating a suppression order in the Lattouf case.
In June, the federal court ruled that the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act when terminating Lattouf due to her political views opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The pro-Israel lobby group has accused the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald of breaching a suppression order issued by the court in February during Lattouf’s unlawful termination trial.
Nine’s lawyer, Tom Blackburn, argued that the letter presented by Sue Chrysanthou SC, representing the applicants, was irrelevant and should not be admitted as evidence. Blackburn stated that any increased harassment of Jewish complainants was not the fault of journalists at the Age but rather a result of the judgment handed down on the same day.
Blackburn also argued that individual journalists should not be respondents, and the Age newspaper should not be held responsible for publications on archival websites and social media. Justice Darryl Rangiah accepted the letter as relevant to his decision and reserved his judgment.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jul/14/pro-israel-lobby-group-members-who-complained-to-abc-about-lattouf-harassed-online-court-hears-ntwnfb
