Jillian Segal will serve a three-year term and report directly to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Australia has appointed a special envoy to combat anti-Semitism amid concerns that the war in Gaza is fuelling communal tensions.
Jillian Segal, a Jewish lawyer and business leader, will work with Australian Jews, the broader Australian public, religious discrimination experts and the government on ways to address anti-Jewish sentiment, the Australian government said in a statement Tuesday.
Segal will serve a three-year term and report directly to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles.
Albanese said there was “no place” for violence or hatred in Australia.
“Australians are deeply concerned by this conflict and many are suffering. At times like this, Australians must come together, not separate,” Albanese said.
“We have built the social cohesion of our nation together over generations, and that is why we must all work together to defend and preserve it.”
Albanese said his government would also soon announce a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
In one of his first tasks in his new role, Segal will attend the World Jewish Congress in Argentina next week to discuss anti-Semitism with other envoys from around the world.
Segal warned Tuesday that anti-Semitism has become “normalized,” citing data from Australia's peak Jewish body showing a 700 percent rise in reported hate incidents in the months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the start of Israel's war in Gaza.
“The Jewish community in Australia is experiencing valid feelings of fear in the face of rising anti-Semitism,” Segal said.
“Australian Jews want to feel free to live their daily lives and they also want to feel safe to practise and express their religion without fear. They also want to be able to contribute, as they have done so far, to the vibrant multicultural society that we value in Australia.”
Like other countries, Australia has seen heated protests over the war in Gaza, with both Jewish and Muslim communities reporting a sharp rise in hate speech.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
More than 1,130 people were killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7, according to Israeli authorities.
The Executive Council of Australian Judaism, which Segal headed until last year, welcomed the appointment of the new envoy to carry out “vital work for the betterment of Australian society.”
However, the Australian Jewish Council, which has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, expressed concern about Segal’s record “of lobbying for Israel, opposing voices supporting Palestinian human rights and portraying all Jews as supporters of Israel’s actions.”
“By appointing a pro-war person to this position, the government risks creating division, increasing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, and ultimately making Jews less safe,” the council said in a statement.
