The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has ruled that leading the chant “All Zionists are terrorists" at a Melbourne CBD rally constituted racial and religious vilification of Jewish people, reported the Australian Jewish News.
The case was brought by Melbourne man Menachem Vorchheimer, who argued that the slogan crossed the line from political protest into unlawful hate speech. The Tribunal agreed, determining that the chant incited hatred against Jewish people.
The Jewish Centre for Law and Justice welcomed the decision, stating that it “draws an important line in the sand" and clarifies that anti-Zionist rhetoric can, in certain contexts, amount to racial vilification.
Vorchheimer expressed his belief that the ruling affirms that freedom of speech in Australia “is not absolute" and does not extend to serious racial or religious vilification. A further hearing will determine what consequences, if any, should be imposed.
Vorchheimer explained that he initiated legal proceedings in 2024 due to concerns that unchecked inflammatory rhetoric could lead to violence. “That fear was tragically realized at Bondi, where Jews celebrating Hanukkah were targeted in a terrorist massacre - 15 murdered, 41 hospitalized with gunshot wounds," he said.
Vorchheimer stated that throughout the legal process, he offered the respondents a simple resolution: an acknowledgment that protest has limits and that vilifying others is unlawful. He said that his offers were rejected, and he was instead subjected to threats of costs and personal attacks.
“Today’s decision affirms a truth that should never have been controversial: freedom of speech in Australia is not absolute. It does not extend to serious racial or religious vilification," Vorchheimer said.
He particularly welcomed the Tribunal’s finding that the chant was intended to target, at a minimum, all supporters of the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state, going beyond the alleged purpose of protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Australia has seen a sharp wave of antisemitism in the past year, even before the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre. Attacks have included the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
Days after the arson at Adass Israel, a car was set on fire, and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population.
In another incident, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
In early 2025, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall.