Former SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis apologises for sharing comments ‘seen as anti-Semitic’

The former SBS host has apologised for sharing ‘comments (that) may be seen as anti-Semitic’, while hoping to avoid further legal action against her.

The ZFA chief executive further criticised Mary Kostakidis on Friday for apologising ‘while continuing to regularly post deeply offensive content’. Picture: AAP

Former SBS presenter Mary Kostakidis has apologised for sharing “comments (that) may be seen as anti-Semitic” from former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, but may face a longer legal battle with the Zionist Federation of Australia.

ZFA chief executive Alon Cassuto said he was “considering (his) options” after calling Ms Kostakidis before the Australian Human Rights Commission in July, where the pair failed to reach agreement over remediation.

Ms Kostakidis sparked the ire of the ZFA after engaging in a “campaign of vilification” online, sharing material that veered into conspiracy and advocated for “the ethnic cleansing of Jewish Israelis in Israel”.

On Thursday, she apologised online for originally retweeting a video of deceased Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in which he said there was no place for Jews in Israel.

“I condemn anti-Semitism and racism of any kind,” she said on Twitter/X.

“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 anti-Semitic but that is not a barrier to reporting them.

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

Mr Cassuto further criticised Ms Kostakidis on Friday for apologising “while continuing to regularly post deeply offensive content, including conspiracy theories about the firebombed Adass synagogue in Melbourne”.

Ms Kostakidis presented SBS news for 20 years before quitting in 2007, lodging a claim for breach of contract and alleging she had been bullied by fellow presenter Stan Grant. The matter was settled out of court.

The anti-Israel social media post featuring Jeffrey Epstein by Mary Kostakidis. Picture: X

She previously denied ever inciting hatred against Jewish people, saying the legal action was an attempt to silence her and an attack on free speech. Mr Cassuto, represented by Arnold Bloch Leibler, alleged Ms Kostakidis had breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it unlawful to publicly offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person or group on the basis of race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

Other posts included her suggesting Israel knowingly allowed the October 7 attack to occur to justify a retaliatory war, and sharing tweets claiming pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was an agent of Israel who “ran a honeypot for Mossad”. In June she shared a theory that Israel was responsible for the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy, asking “Why has Israel been avoided when discussing the Kennedy assassinations?”.

In making her apology, Ms Kostakidis said the complaint had incited “a number of highly defamatory and gratuitous comments”.

“On 11 December I engaged in Mediation with the Complainant at the Australian Human Rights Commission,” she said. “The matter has not resulted in an agreement.”

“Consequently I have decided to post the following statement with respect to my posts of Nasrallah’s speech, the offence taken, and accusations I am an anti-Semite, in the hope that it resolves any dispute.”

Mr Cassuto argued the apology was a concession of having shared unlawful hate speech.

“Let’s be clear about what Ms Kostakidis’ statement does say: when Hassan Nasrallah declared, ‘Here you don’t have a future. From the river to the sea, Palestine is for the Palestinians only’, it was anti-Semitic hate speech,” he said in a statement.

“Echoing such calls in Australia constitutes unlawful hate speech.”