Jillian Segal appointed special envoy to address antisemitism in Australia
Jillian Segal has been a special envoy has been appointed by the prime minister to address heightened levels of antisemitism in the community.
Anthony Albanese makes the announcement
Businesswoman Jillian Segal will serve as the envoy to combat anti-Semitism and will meet with members of the Jewish community and the government on the best way to stop the vilification.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the appointment at the Sydney Jewish Museum today and said anti-Semitism directed towards Australia’s Jewish community had been more prominent since the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas militants.
“Australians overwhelmingly do not want conflict brought here. What they want here is harmony and for people to be able to get on with each other,” he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
“It has been a reminder over recent months that we just can’t take that respect and social cohesion for granted. We need to nourish it. We need to cherish it. We need to celebrate it.”
Ms Segal, who had served in the public and private sector as well as the president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, will be in the role for the next three years.
The prime minister said a special envoy for Islamophobia would also be appointed shortly
Tensions had been heightened in communities following the Hamas’ attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1200 Israelis and the taking of hostages.
Ms Segal said anti-Semitism had presented threats not just to Jewish Australians but to the entire population.
“Anti-Semitism erodes all that is good and healthy in a society,” she said.
“It has the capacity to lie dormant through good times and then, in times of crisis like pandemic, which we’ve experienced, economic downturn, war – it awakens, it triggers the very worst instincts in an individual.”
Tensions had been heightened in communities following the Hamas’ attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1200 Israelis and the taking of hostages.
Ms Segal said anti-Semitism had presented threats not just to Jewish Australians but to the entire population.
Dr Mike Freelander MP, Jillian Segal, Josh Burns MP, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles Photo: Henry Benjamin/J-Wire
“Anti-Semitism erodes all that is good and healthy in a society,” she said.
“It has the capacity to lie dormant through good times and then, in times of crisis like pandemic, which we’ve experienced, economic downturn, war – it awakens, it triggers the very worst instincts in an individual.”
“It has the capacity to lie dormant through good times and then, in times of crisis like pandemic, which we’ve experienced, economic downturn, war – it awakens, it triggers the very worst instincts in an individual.”
The special envoy will represent Australia at a World Jewish Congress in Argentina next week.
Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the coalition welcomed the move to appoint the envoy.
“This appointment is acceptance by the Albanese government that anti-Semitism is a real and present threat in communities across Australia,” she said in a statement.
“The coalition welcomes any measure by the Albanese government to bring attention to, and combat the rising tide, of anti-Semitism across Australia.”
The opposition used the appointment to reiterate calls for a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses, but the prime minister ruled out such a move.
“We’re very clearly aware of what has occurred.”
“You don’t need an inquiry to know that there’s been a rise of anti-Semitism at some of the universities.”
Executive Council of Australia Jewry president Daniel Aghion also backed the appointment.
“We have seen anti-Semitism rear its ugly head on Australian campuses, in schools, in the media and social media, in the arts and culture sector and other parts of society,” he said.
“(Ms Segal) will bring deep knowledge of the issues and immense energy to the role, and we are confident that she will carry out her duties with integrity and distinction.”
But the Jewish Council of Australia’s executive office Sarah Schwartz said she was concerned the envoy role would undermine efforts to stop racism.
“The anti-racism cause is undermined when governments respond to lobbying from interest groups rather than by addressing racism in a principled manner,” she said.
“We are concerned that an anti-Semitism envoy in Australia … will increase racism and division by pitting Jewish communities against Palestinian, Muslim and other racialised communities.”
Allegra Spender, Independent MP for Wentworth said: “I have been advocating for an antisemitism envoy for many months, so this is an important and welcome announcement.
I am pleased that the government has finally heeded the calls of myself and Australia’s Jewish community.
I have worked closely with Jillian Segal in recent years, and she brings a wealth of experience to her role as antisemitism envoy. Her leadership will be warmly welcomed by the Australian community.
Australia is the world’s most successful multicultural nation, but social cohesion is being undermined by the rising threat of antisemitism.
We cannot allow events overseas to divide Australians here at home.
Jillian Segal’s role as antisemitism envoy will bring a national focus to the fight against antisemitism that is urgently needed.”
AAP/J-Wire
This appointment signals the first official acknowledgement of the failure of Australia’s policy of multiculturalism. The extent and causes of the tsunami of this race hatred has been mapped and highlighted by Jewish organizations over the years in the face of political ineptitude and self-interest. If this position is not to be just another political bandage over a weeping wound and not provided with some punitive measures, it will be a societal eunuch.
A welcome announcement indeed. Would be great if Ms Segal and the future Special Envoy for Islamophobia could get together to see if they could agree on how the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution could be implemented to end more than 100 years of unresolved conflict between Arabs and Jews.