Australian radio presenter who vilified Muslims fails to get lawsuit thrown out

Shockjock Alan Jones has been unsuccessful in his latest attempt to have a lawsuit claiming he racially vilified Sydney's Muslims three days before the Cronulla riots in 2005, dismissed.

In those proceedings, father-of-eight Sam Ekermawi, of Moorebank, claims Jones vilified Muslims when he derided "Lebs", "wogs" and "Middle Eastern" people in his breakfast program on 2GB on December 8, 2005.

Jones read out SMS text messages that had been circulating, allegedly triggered by the assault of two volunteer surf lifesavers by men of Middle Eastern appearance on December 4.

It is claimed the text messages were encouraging people to attend a protest rally on December 11, the day of the riots. One message allegedly said: "Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge." "This Sunday every Aussie in the Shire get down to North Cronulla to support the Leb and wog bashing day," it is claimed the message said.

It is alleged that Jones also read an email on air, it said: "Alan, it's not just a few Middle Eastern bastards at the weekend, its thousands. Cronulla is a very long beach and it's been taken over by this scum. It's not a few causing trouble. It's all of them, it's an attitude that you feel whenever you go there, it's just straight out racism against the skippies".

Three days later an estimated 5000 Sydney youths gathered at the beach and fights erupted. The violence spread to Cronulla railway station and on to a train. Police arrested 51 people and charged them with assault and riot.

More than a dozen men served jail time, including a Penrith man who assaulted Lebanese men while wearing a singlet with the words "Mohammed was a camel-raping faggot".

Jones and 2GB tried to have Mr Ekermawi's case thrown out on a legal technicality. The attempt failed, with the three-member appeal panel of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruling on November 30 that the case should continue.

Mr Ekermawi first lodged his complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Board in 2005, and seven years later he is still waiting for it to be heard in the ADT.

It is not the only case to claim Jones and 2GB racially vilified Muslims prior to the Cronulla riots. In October Jones and 2GB were ordered to apologise on air for a separate racist rant where he called Sydney's Lebanese Muslims "vermin" who "infest our shores" and "rape" and "pillage" our nation.

He has not yet apologised.

Daily Telegraph, 4 November 2012

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