Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has conceded some of her social media posts about the Israel-Gaza war “may be” considered controversial, but she was only sharing “facts”, a court has heard. The comments highlighted by the ABC’s counsel in the federal court in Sydney on Monday included that the state of Israel is guilty of apartheid, that Benjamin Netanyahu is the “most far-right extremist” leader in Israel’s history and that “Gaza is being annihilated hourly”.
Lattouf, who has sued the ABC for unlawful termination, published the posts on her public Instagram account before she was hired for a casual presenting role in December 2023. She lost her job after sharing a Human Rights Watch post about the Israel-Gaza war while employed. The ABC said she did not follow a manager’s direction to stop posting on social media, but denies she was sacked due to outside pressure.
In opening statements, Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir said former ABC chair Ita Buttrose had pressured management to take Lattouf off air by claiming she had an illness. Buttrose wrote in correspondence: “Has Antoinette been replaced? I’m over getting emails about her. Why can’t she come down with flu or Covid or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing.”
Fagir also said outgoing managing director David Anderson told his executive he found evidence that Lattouf’s “socials are full of antisemitic hatred”. The court heard that the ABC’s acting editorial director had advised that Lattouf had not breached editorial guidelines prior to the Human Rights Watch post.
The names of pro-Israel individuals who complained to the ABC were suppressed by Justice Darryl Rangiah to prevent “vilification and harassment”. Lattouf will return to court on Tuesday.
