Victoria Police drop gag order against Israel advocate Zara Cooper
Israel advocate Zara Cooper has claimed a win over Victoria Police after they backflipped on a controversial intervention order made on behalf of left-wing Jewish critic Sarah Schwartz.
Victoria Police have backflipped on a controversial intervention order against Israeli activist Zara Cooper, conceding in court that they had no reasonable prospect of success after obtaining further legal advice.
In March, police applied for a Personal Safety Intervention Order (PSIO) on behalf of Sarah Schwartz, leader of the Jewish Council of Australia, alleging Ms Cooper’s Instagram commentary was severely affecting her mental health. The unusual police-led action sought to prevent Ms Cooper from publishing further criticism of Ms Schwartz online — despite Ms Schwartz’s own record of writing in support of free speech, academic freedom, and the right to protest.
The case initially set the stage for a potentially unprecedented legal battle over the boundaries of online speech and state intervention. But after months of delay, the matter was formally abandoned by police on Friday before Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge.
Victoria Police initially resisted calls to withdraw the application, telling the court they needed more time to compile evidence. The magistrate ordered them to file further evidence, provide a list of witnesses, and a summary of all evidence by April 16. No documents were filed.
When the matter returned to court on Friday, police formally sought to withdraw their case.
Asked by Magistrate Lethbridge to explain, police said the decision followed legal advice that there was no prospect of success. When asked whether the affected person, Ms Schwartz, had been consulted, police confirmed she had — but did not tell the court that she had publicly distanced herself from the proceedings weeks earlier.
In a statement following the court’s decision, Ms Cooper slammed the decision by Victoria Police to pursue a PSIO on the basis of online criticism, noting that no threats or unlawful conduct had occurred.
She described the move as a “baffling” misuse of public resources, time, and taxpayer money.
“The original decision taken by Victoria Police to apply for a PSIO on the basis of online criticism, without any threats or unlawful conduct, represents a baffling misuse of time, resources, and taxpayer dollars. What justification could there possibly have been for such an action,” Ms Cooper said.
She said “weaponising” the intervention order system to suppress dissent and public discussion was unacceptable and should never be tolerated, let alone supported by police.
“There are some genuine victims of crime whose lives are at risk and who struggle to get Victoria Police to act,” she said.
“It is deeply concerning that a self described human rights lawyer who publicly claims to support free speech, chose to make use of a process designed to protect people from real harm in order to attempt to silence online debate and criticism. This is not only a misuse of the legal system but a betrayal of the principles the legal profession is meant to uphold.”
“Weaponising the intervention order process in order to suppress dissent and public debate is unacceptable and must not be tolerated, let alone endorsed by Victoria Police. I am glad the court’s time will no longer be wasted on a matter that never should have been brought forward.”
Ms Cooper’s lawyers had previously argued the case was based on “frivolous” claims and pushed for the court to end the legal dispute in March.
On April 7, Ms Schwartz took to her social media to declare she had requested Victoria Police to drop their application and told them she would not be giving them a statement.
She claimed that Ms Cooper posted more than 670 times about her and the Jewish Council, often targeting her by name, with the material amounting to a pattern of “racist” and “sexist” harassment that was directed at Jews, Palestinian, and Arab women who advocate for Palestinian rights.
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