Barrister reprimanded after AJA makes complaint about antisemitic posts. 

Reported by @ElizaJBarr in today's Sunday Telegraph

A high-flying barrister has received a rap on the knuckles after praising Hamas as “absolute heroes” of the Israel-Palestine war.

Nicholas Poynder was the subject of a complaint to the Legal Services Commissioner by Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory after making social media posts he alleged constituted “serious anti-Semitic incitement and vilification against the Jewish people”.

In posts between December 2023 and February 2024, Mr Poynder first said he used to support Israel on the condition of a two-state solution.

“Then, I said Israel has lost the right to exist. Now, I support Hamas as the defender of Palestinians,” Mr Poynder said.

In another post, on February 5, Mr Poynder wrote: “Israelis are monsters. They no longer deserve their own country.”

The posts on X – the platform formerly known as Twitter – have since been deleted.

The Office of the Legal Services Commissioner’s online Register of Disciplinary Action records that Mr Poynder was reprimanded after a finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct by the Council of the NSW Bar Association on December 12.

The “substance” of the misconduct was described as “posts on his account on the ‘X’ social media platform which constitute a breach of Rule 8 of the Barristers’ Rule”.

Rule 8 requires that a barrister must not engage in conduct which is “likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession or the administration of justice, or otherwise bring the legal profession into disrepute”.

An online biography indicates Mr Poynder previously worked as a senior legal officer with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

When Snitch called his Sydney chambers for comment, we were informed Mr Poynder has relocated to Adelaide.