Fears Jewish lawsuit may become second royal commission
Taunts echoed in the courtroom during the legal battle between Jewish and pro-Palestinian academics; The judge feared it could turn into another royal commission into antisemitism.
Two lawsuits have been filed against University of Sydney professor John Keane and senior lecturer Nick Riemer over a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Jewish academics and students have accused the pair of discriminating against Jewish people through social media posts between late 2023 and mid-2024 about the conflict in Gaza.
Dr Riemer and Prof Keane argue that the posts are not anti-Semitic because they criticize Israel and Zionism. They haven’t made a defense yet.
At the preliminary hearing, Judge Geoffrey Kennett expressed concerns that the proposed changes to the statements of claim, if not conclusive, could lead to a wider investigation.
“I fear the case could become another royal commission into anti-Semitism,” he told the Federal Court on Tuesday.
Jessie Taylor, barrister for Dr Riemer and Prof Keane, shared their concerns and argued the proposed changes were a “major expansion” of the complaints.
Noting a statement about the Jewish experience in Australia, he stated that it was unnecessary and difficult to prove that a group of people collectively held the same view.
Ms Taylor said statements about the previously canceled Palestinian intifadas were being tried to be included under the umbrella of Australian Jewish beliefs.
When he argued that the word “intifada” had multiple meanings, laughter and jeers rose throughout the packed courtroom.
“There’s a lot of load in the period, so it’s very important to keep the defenses tight,” Ms Taylor said.
But Adam Butt, a lawyer for Jewish academics and students, argued that the term only matters what it means to the alleged victims, Australian Jews.
“The other side of this history is completely irrelevant,” he said.
Mr Butt rejected the suggestion that he was trying to present a monolithic view of Judaism and said the changes were about mood and context in relation to the offensiveness of the posts.
He said a definitive test could be applied to determine whether the majority of Australian Jews would be offended or insulted by the posts.
In amended statements, Mr Butt claimed Dr Riemer and Prof Keane continued to harass Australian Jews by failing to remove their social media posts.
But Ms Taylor called on the judge to reject the changes, which she said would change the nature of the allegations against academics from a single act of racial discrimination to ongoing behaviour.
Prof Keane is being sued over two posts, one of which included five flags of the terrorist group Hamas the day after it killed 1,200 people in Israel.
The case against Dr Riemer covers a wider range of posts urging students to attend a meeting in November 2023 about the “global intifada” or Palestinian uprising.
Judge Kennett will issue his decision on the amended statements of claim at a later date.
