Antisemitism plan will only further divide Australia

July 10, 2025

An antisemitism plan, in the guise of a law and order crackdown, will only further divide our country, increasing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, and ultimately make Jews less safe.

While the federal government has moved to adopt the antisemitism plan and the recommendations from the special envoy, Jillian Segal, one must ask… is this plan beneficial for our social cohesion when Israel has been found to be committing genocide? Is Jillian Segal right for this high-profile government role, particularly one as sensitive as an “envoy for antisemitism” when, in fact, she has criticised calls for ceasefire in Gaza and defended the campaign of bombing hospitals?

Segal’s opposition to the call for a ceasefire and her insistence there can be no legitimate criticism of Israel’s bombing campaign surely makes her position as the holder of any government appointment untenable. As a past president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, her allegiance is to those who are lobbying the government to crack down on protesters.

Segal is also a longstanding chair of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, one of this country’s most prestigious big business lobbies and she remains cozy with Israeli bosses and weapons contractors.