Inaugral Newsletter

Published May 13 2025

A MESSAGE FROM JILL SEGAL AO, AUSTRALIA'S FIRST SPECIAL ENVOY TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM

When I was appointed as Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, I knew the task would be urgent, enormous and most importantly, essential.

Antisemitism is not just a threat to Jewish Australians. It is a warning sign of the health of our democracy and is contrary to our shared Australian values. It erodes civility, undermines inclusion and sows fear where there should be belonging.

This role was created to lead a national response that is coordinated, practical and clear. It is about engaging across sectors, forging partnerships and ensuring that antisemitism is never met with silence or confusion, but with clarity and resolve. Research I have overseen shows just how urgent the task is- antisemitism is far more accepted and normalised amongst those under the age of 35.

This newsletter is the first of what will be a regular update from my office. It is designed to inform you, in a summary way, what the ASECA office is working on. Please subscribe by clicking the button below.

Initial steps

Soon after I was appointed in July 2024, I was asked by the Federal Government to attend the 30th Anniversary of the bombing of the Buenos Aires Community Centre (AMIA) and the signing by many countries and envoys of the Global Guidelines to Counter Antisemitism. Australia is now a proud signatory and it was important to meet international counterparts, as I will continue to work with them.

Before my office was even established, I appeared before a Senate committee considering whether a Judicial Commission into antisemitism at universities should be established. I also set about recruiting a team and I now have a team established in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Universities: Tackling Antisemitism at the Roots

This is a critical sector which has taken a great deal of my time as it is the place where antisemitism has become embedded and where Jewish students and staff have felt unsafe.

I have made two submissions and appearances to Parliamentary inquiries on antisemitism in higher education. The first was the Senate Committee enquiring into whether a Judicial Commission should be held. To provide a basis for my many suggestions (including support for a Judicial Commission of Enquiry), I interviewed 65 Jewish students and staff. This illustrated how inadequate existing complaints mechanisms and policies were and how universities had largely failed Jewish students, who did not feel safe on campus.
Following recommendations of the Senate Committee I worked with the Group of Eight universities and secured a commitment to define antisemitism consistently and deliver staff training to university administrators, senior staff and complaints scheme operations.
Whilst the definition agreed to by the University leaders of almost all of our 39 universities is not IHRA, it is not too far from IHRA. It provides a clear definition that universities will own and they believe will be able to be incorporated into complaints schemes and disciplinary processes. I will be monitoring the implementation of this definition across the sector.
With my support, Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, has provided training to the Go8 leadership and complaints teams and my office is working closely with them to roll it out to all universities.
I also successfully advocated for the new National Student Ombudsman to include antisemitism complaints in its remit. This is an important check on university complaints schemes.
I have undertaken research on community and student attitudes to antisemitism to inform future policy and action.
My office is continuing to work with universities regarding their policies dealing with disturbances and antisemitic behaviour and I will be providing them with best practice examples to raise the ability of the sector to deal with future challenges.
I have a number of other important initiatives concerning universities being developed and much continues to be done!

Schools: Building Awareness Early

Education is one of the most powerful tools we have; that is why early and sustained engagement with schools is another core focus:

I have met individually with many parties within the community who are working with schools to understand their role in educating about antisemitism. This includes Courage to Care, Together with Humanity, Sydney Jewish Museum, Museum Alliance of Australia, Jewish Museum of Australia, Catholic Schools of NSW and Association of Independent Schools NSW.
I met with the Director General of Education in NSW and agreed a number of initiatives with him to reach out to public schools and their principals in NSW to educate them about antisemitism. I subsequently joined with him, Aftab Malik, the Islamophobia Envoy and Joseph La Posta, CEO of Multicultural NSW, to produce a video sharing our concerns which has now been distributed to all principals.
My office is in the process of finalising the development of educational assets – including short videos about Jews, the contribution of Jews to Australia, Antisemitism and the Israel/Gaza conflict which I hope will be able to be distributed to schools and others as a useful tool together with explanatory written materials.
I am pleased to say that these initiatives with the Department of Education in NSW have been influential with the Department of Education of Western Australia. I hope to engage with the Departments of Education in Victoria and Queensland soon.
I joined a presentation and Q&A with the Gandel Foundation and Yad Vashem program for teachers, alongside Alex Ryvchin, to better understand the realities educators face in the classroom and inform our development of educational materials.
I have also accepted invitations to speak at several independent schools to engage directly with students and staff. I addressed students at Wesley College in Melbourne and was pleased by their supportive response.
I am in discussion with UNESCO as well as the Alliance of Holocaust Museums to look at best practice education materials.

Conclusion

I have also spoken to many community groups in NSW, Victoria and WA and will be travelling to Queensland in the next couple of months.

I realise how concerned the community is, but I can reassure you that progress is being made in many spheres. In subsequent newsletters I will cover work that my office has done in advocating for law reform and working with State and Federal Governments and the Attorney General’s Department.

There is much more to do and when my national Plan is released shortly, you will see, not only, the extent of the task but also the strategies I will be implementing across different sectors.

A special thank you to our peak Jewish bodies, including the ECAJ, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Jewish Community Council of Victoria, Jewish Community Council of Western Australia, Jewish Community Council of Queensland and Zionist Federation of Australia and others for your ongoing support in my role and for helping share this newsletter.

Your partnership and insight is not only valued— it is vital.