Appointment remarks

General
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“Thank you, Prime Minister and Minister Giles for this honour. I feel humbled and privileged to have been appointed to this role and to accept this appointment here, in the Sydney Jewish Museum, a place that so powerfully showcases Jewish life and contribution in this country and also reminds us of what is at stake in the fight against antisemitism.

As an Australian, I feel I have experienced the best of humanity. Our country is marked by a kind and compassionate people, a basic belief in the dignity of each human, and the pursuit of equality and fairness for all. Many of us come from immigrant families, mine included, and we have all looked to Australia as a land of fairness, opportunity, education and dignity. These values are deeply rooted in Jewish belief and tradition.  But history- and the Jewish experience throughout history including the Holocaust -tells us we have to be vigilant to protect our tolerant and peaceful way of life.

Antisemitism erodes all that is good and healthy in a society. As such, it poses a threat not only to the Jewish community but to our entire nation. Antisemitism is an age old hatred. It has the capacity to lie dormant through the good times, and then, in times of crisis, pandemic, economic downturn, war, it awakens. It triggers the worst instincts in an individual – to fear, to blame the other for life’s misfortunes and even to hate. It is often based on misinformation and inaccurate rumour. It can spread from the individual to contaminate the collective, damaging life for the entire community leading to violence

The Jewish community in this country can be traced to the very beginning of European settlement and the First Fleet. We have been blessed to live in a country with no history of antisemitic laws or institutional persecution of Jewish Australians.

But the world is changing. Indeed it has changed. The rapid dissemination of ideas through social media means that antisemitic ideas that once look years to spread, can instantly be conveyed and absorbed. The pandemic changed our world. Its legacy is a greater capacity to accept conspiracy theories and disinformation over facts and expert opinions. October 7 changed our world too. All over the world antisemitism has been normalised and that is very dangerous.

The statistics on antisemitism in Australia right now are shocking and confronting. Right after October 7 they were up over 700%. They are still disturbing and confronting - 400-500% higher than previously. But when we look beyond the numbers, we see the individuals whose lives have been impacted in tragic and profound ways. Jewish parents worried about sending their children to school. We see Jewish artists, authors and musicians subjected to exclusion and shadow bans.  We see Jewish members of the LGBTQI community excluded. We see Jewish small business owners who have lost their livelihoods to boycotts and vandalism. And this all affects the vibrancy and cohesion of the community more generally.

There is no single answer to the perennial problem of antisemitism. But the creation of this role shows a determination to confront this evil and ensure that it does not erode the goodness that exists in our society. It will require a national strategy, coordination between communities and all levels of government, education on what antisemitism looks like today, and deeper engagement between Jewish and non-Jewish communities.  But I am optimistic that with such measures and our proud Australian history of a tolerant multicultural society, we can have a positive impact on this hatred and rebuild social cohesion.

I look forward to working with the Government on all these aspects as well as with many other organisations and people of goodwill including other similar envoys overseas.

I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to serve my country and community in helping to find some solutions. It is an enormous privilege and one I will seek to discharge faithfully for the good of my community and all Australians”. 

Jillian Segal AO, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism