Retired Australian Navy officer Mona Shindy says she's considering her legal options against Multicultural NSW after she was dumped from its advisory board after two posts she shared on social media about Israel.
Shindy, the 32-year-veteran captain, was notified she was sacked in a letter from NSW Multicultural Affairs Minister Steve Kamper on Tuesday, after the public announcement of her role last year was delayed due to the Bondi terror attack.
The captain is the most senior former Muslim naval officer in the country and has served as an adviser on Islamic cultural affairs for the chief of Navy.
Shindy reshared two posts uploaded by other users on LinkedIn, one of which included an unverified report that said a captured commander from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group in Libya was an Israeli Mossad agent. The second post said: "the system (sic) is infiltrated and run by zionists. Humans needs to reclaim the system."
A spokesperson for Multicultural NSW told SBS News in a statement that "standard probity checks identified recent social media activity by Captain Shindy that raised concerns about her ability to meet Multicultural NSW's statutory objectives and Code of Conduct requirement".
The spokesperson said her posts were "assessed as inconsistent with these expectations and could undermine perceptions of impartiality and her ability to provide unifying leadership on the Advisory Board".
A Multicultural NSW officer had congratulated Shindy on her part-time appointment in an email on 16 December, two days after the Bondi Beach terror attack, asking her to review a media release to announce her new role in the new year. But two days later, she was told that "the Bondi attack has shifted our plans" and was asked to keep the news private.
In late January, Shindy said she was told Multicultural NSW staff had found her "contentious" LinkedIn posts, during a meeting with the deputy CEO of Multicultural NSW James Jegasothy and the secretary of the premier's department Simon Draper.
She said she refused pressure to resign from Multicultural NSW CEO Joseph La Posta, who told her it "would be very difficult for [her] to get any other government position on board or otherwise" if she was sacked. She said La Posta told her resigning would be the "safest option".
In response to questions about La Posta's comment, Multicultural NSW said: "Government officials discussed Shindy sharing misinformation posts which contained conspiracy theories with her, and suggested she consider whether her actions were consistent [with] expectations of the position."
Shindy removed posts, apologised
Shindy later removed the posts and apologised in a lengthy submission to the multicultural affairs minister, while highlighting: "I have not vilified any community on the basis of race, religion, ethnic or national origin."
She detailed in her letter that she, as a Muslim woman of Arab descent, was personally "very traumatised by what many authoritative, reputable and evidence-based bodies have called a genocide" in Gaza.
A United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak on behalf of the UN as a whole and has been sharply criticised by Israel, concluded in September that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel is separately defending a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered provisional measures but has yet to issue a final ruling. Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide in Gaza.
"In no way would I ever imply any human (including all Zionists) are somehow subhuman. That particular repost was intended to show concern at the suffering of innocent civilians," Shindy said.
She also said her resharing of the Mossad post and tagging it as 'insightful' on the platform was "not as an indication of support or agreement but because I thought it was interesting that some people have such ideas".
'Exceptional and punitive standard'
Kamper responded in a letter, seen by SBS News, that he "carefully considered" her submissions and decided to recommend to the governor-general that she be removed from the board.
Shindy said she has "lost faith in the integrity of Multicultural NSW" and has accused the body of treating her with "suspicion rather than good faith".
"The approach taken in my case has not strengthened cohesion; it has fractured trust not only for me but will do so for many Muslims who call this state home," she wrote in response to Kamper's email.
"You have applied to me an exceptional and punitive standard — one not applied to others — that sits well beyond the limits of fairness, proportionality, or justification.
"To exclude people of my background and experience now is not only short-sighted; it is profoundly damaging to the social fabric you are charged with protecting."
Kamper's office referred SBS News to comments from Multicultural NSW.
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