Australian journalist wins unfair dismissal case over Gaza post
Antoinette Lattouf was fired by ABC after sharing an Instagram post from Human Rights Watch that said Israel had used starvation as a ‘weapon of war� in Gaza
ANKARA
Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf won her unlawful termination claim against public broadcaster ABC and was awarded AUD$70,000 ($45,511), local media reported Wednesday.
The Federal Court found the broadcaster contravened the Fair Work Act by terminating her employment for reasons "including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza," according to ABC News.
Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian journalist, was employed by ABC for a five-day engagement in December 2023 but was fired just three days into her job after sharing an Instagram post by Human Rights Watch about the war in Gaza with the caption "HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war,” which ABC said was a breach of its editorial policy.
The international human rights organization had published a study detailing how Israeli authorities in Gaza employed starvation as a weapon of war.
Lattouf sued for wrongful dismissal, saying she had been fired over her political views, her race and after lobbying from pro-Israel groups.
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
