Pianist loses discrimination case against Melbourne orchestra over Gaza comments

A federal court ruled that the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancelled Jayson Gillham’s performance to address business impacts, not because of his political beliefs.

• Justice Graeme Hill found that the orchestra had a policy of not expressing support for either side of the Israel-Gaza conflict from the stage.
• Hill ruled that Gillham’s concert was scrapped to “address the anticipated adverse impacts” of his comments, not due to his political beliefs.
• Gillham told the audience that Israel had killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists, which he called a war crime under international law.
• After the ruling, Gillham said he was disappointed and needed time to process the judgment.