In short:
A man who admitted to vandalism offences in Sydney's east did not act as an "antisemitic bigot", but was a "vandal for hire", the NSW's highest court has found.
asserted
court → admit → hire
The Supreme Court dismissed an application to place Mohommed Farhat under a year-long extended supervision order at the end of his jail sentence.
asserted
Court → dismiss → sentence
Farhat says at the time of the offending his life "was taken over by drugs" and he did not understand the impact of his actions.
asserted
he → say → actions
A man who admitted to a string of vandalism offences in Sydney's east did not act as an "antisemitic bigot" but was a "vandal for hire", and is not at risk of committing a serious terrorism offence, according to the state's highest court.
uncertain
who → admit → court
The NSW Supreme Court has dismissed an application by the State to place Mohommed Farhat under a year-long extended supervision order at the expiration of his jail sentence.
asserted
Court → dismiss → sentence
Had the application succeeded, it would have seen 55 strict conditions imposed on the 22-year-old, which would have been "highly restrictive" of his liberty.
asserted
which → succeed → liberty
Farhat pleaded guilty to 15 offences over the vandalism at Woollahra in November 2024, when vehicles were sprayed with slogans including "F*** Israel" and "PKK coming".
asserted
PKK → plead → Israel
He was previously handed a sentence of one year and eight months with an expiry date in October 2026, and the State Parole Authority revoked his statutory parole due to a finding he posed a serious, identifiable risk to the safety of the community.
asserted
he → hand → community
But Farhat has long claimed he was manipulated into the crimes and motivated by promises of money and drugs.
asserted
he → claim → money
A Local Court judge previously said material before that court cast some doubt on the true motivation, but made a finding that a hatred of or prejudice against Jewish people was an aggravating factor.
asserted
hatred → say → people
This week, Justice Desmond Fagan found that Farhat was "incited and directed" by another person to commit his crimes for a $4,000 payment and unspecified quantity of drugs.
asserted
Farhat → find → drugs
He "did not intend to express hatred of Jews", the judge said in his reasons.
asserted
judge → intend → reasons
The judge also went on to find that the "f*** Israel" slogans were "objectively, crude expressions of political hostility to the state of Israel" and constituted a "curse against a foreign state".
asserted
slogans → go → state
"They are not antisemitic according to the ordinary understanding of that concept in the Australian community,"Justice Fagan said.
"The fact that in this case the slogans were graffitied in a locality where a high proportion of residents may be Jewish does not imbue the curse with an antisemitic character."
Antisemitism definition criticised
Also in his reasons, Justice Fagan noted expert opinion before the court stated the definition of exactly what constitutes antisemitism was debated.
uncertain
what → accord → antisemitism
An analyst of middle eastern affairs, whose report was tendered by the Crown, made reference to a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
asserted
report → tender → Alliance
But Justice Fagan said the IHRA's formulation did not assist him in Farhat's case and "does not reflect the established usage and understanding of the term 'antisemitic' in Australia".
asserted
formulation → say → Australia
"The IHRA core text is so verbose and imprecise that it could not realistically be attributed to the ordinary, reasonably informed member of the Australian public," he said.
uncertain
he → attribute → public
The judge said he was not the first to criticise the "inept drafting" of the IHRA formulation, noting that in a submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) also criticised the wording and cited detailed critiques by others.
asserted
Council → say → others
"Discussion of the IHRA wording and adoption of it by some institutions does not change the established meaning of a word that has been in use in the English language for 150 years,"Justice Fagan said.
asserted
Fagan → change → years,"Justice
"The IHRA formulation propounds a concept different from that which 'antisemitism' has long been understood to describe and appropriates that word to the novel concept."
The court concluded that Australians who strongly disapprove of Israel's treatment of Palestinians "have freedom to express their views", and others who support Israel have the right not to listen, read or engage.
asserted
who → propound → right
In Farhat's case, the judge found, the words "f*** Israel" were conveyed by defacing vehicles and damaging property, which meant the seriousness of the crime was "increased by its wantonness, vulgarity and intimidatory effect but not by any antisemitic implication".
asserted
seriousness → find → implication
'Label has been wrongly applied'
asserted
Label → apply → ?
Justice Fagan said police statements and intelligence reports had "uniformly" described Farhat's spray-painting as antisemitic, and that was then taken up by the prosecution's submissions to the Local Court "without reflection or analysis".
asserted
that → say → reflection
Justice Fagan expressed the view, respectfully, that the Local Court judge made a legal error in finding that "f*** Israel" was an antisemitic phrase and reflective of hatred of prejudice towards Jewish people.
asserted
Israel → express → people
The characterisation of the graffiti as being antisemitic led to Farhat being treated differently under criminal law, Justice Fagan said.
asserted
Fagan → lead → law
"The label has been wrongly applied, injustice to the defendant has followed and the misconception has led to the State bringing these proceedings,"he said.
asserted
State → apply → proceedings,"he
In a letter to the Local Court, Farhat previously wrote that at the time of the vandalism, he was "lost in my ways", addicted to drugs, and did not realise the gravity of his actions or the effect on others, particularly the Jewish and Turkish communities.
asserted
he → write → others
He said visits from a Jewish community member had "really opened my eyes" and allowed him to look at things from the perspectives of others.
asserted
him → say → others
"At the time of my offending I did not understand the deep meaning of my actions and their impact," he wrote.
asserted
he → understand → actions
"My whole life was taken over by drugs and negative influences."
asserted
life → take → drugs
The Aporia