Greek Australian journalist Mary Kostakidis has vehemently defended her reporting on the ongoing situation in Gaza amid a legal case in Australia and accusations of antisemitism.

The former SBS news anchor drew the ire of many last year after sharing a speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on her X account in January, where he told all dual passport holders to leave, with her adding a comment saying he was giving the Israeli government some of its own medicine.

The journalist’s posts sparked a major reaction and subsequently led to a complaint being filed against her in the Australian Human Rights Commission last July by the CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Alon Cassuto.

The legal proceedings are ongoing and encompass accusations of Kostakidis being antisemitic, something she strongly denied in a subsequent X post earlier this month.

She stated in that post that she condemns antisemitism and racism of any kind, saying:

“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.”

Kostakidis concluded the post by saying “To the Jews and/or Israelis in Australia who took my posts as an endorsement, I am sorry for their hurt, distress and pain”.

The acclaimed journalist spoke to Neos Kosmos on the situation, expressing that her posts on her X account on the subject are detailing the terrible scenes that are coming out of the atrocities occurring in Gaza.

“These images are neither shown nor spoken about in the mainstream press,” Kostakidis said, adding that “many of the journalists providing these images are being killed”.

She stressed that the articles she shares are mostly from Jewish scholars within Israel and elsewhere, Jewish journalists, Jewish experts, and Israeli human rights organisations.

The Greek Australian expressed her view that she has been targeted as “if they can take me down, given my reputation, knowledge and experience including over 40 years in this geopolitical space, others will be intimidated enough to self-censor”.

“They are testing the Racial Discrimination Act to define the boundaries of what a journalist/commentator can say or publish. It would be a disastrous precedent that will impact on every person in this country,” Kostakidis said.

The acclaimed reporter stated that she has “been defamed as an antisemite in the midst of a push to redefine antisemitism to include criticism of Israel”.

“Free speech is not just the freedom to say what you want. Real freedom of speech is when you support that right for those who say things with which you disagree,” she said.

Kostakidis shared her disappointment in the manner in which Australia has responded to the situation, adding her belief the media has also not held them sufficiently to account.

“We live in extraordinary and dangerous times, because when we allow this to happen to people with whom we may not feel affinity, it changes what is possible.”