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 the war in Gaza is fueling communal tensions.
Jillian Segal, a Jewish lawyer and business leader, will engage with Australian Jews, the wider Australian public, religious discrimination experts and the government about ways to address anti-Jewish sentiment, the Australian government said in a statement on 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 hate in Australia.
“Australians are deeply concerned about this conflict and many are suffering. In times like these, Australians must come together and not be torn apart,” Albanese said.
“We have built our nation’s social cohesion together over generations and that is why we must all work together to defend, 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 on Tuesday that anti-Semitism has become “normalized”, citing data from Australia’s main Jewish body that showed a 700 percent increase in reported hate incidents in the months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the beginning 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 practice and express their religion without fear. They also want to be able to contribute as they have previously to the vibrant multicultural society we value in Australia.”
Like other countries, Australia has seen heated protests over the war in Gaza, and both Jewish and Muslim communities have reported a sharp rise in hate incidents.
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 Hamas attacks on October 7, according to Israeli authorities.
The Executive Council of Australian Jews, which Segal led until last year, welcomed the appointment of the new envoy to carry out “vital work for the betterment of Australian society”.
However, the Jewish Council of Australia, which has been highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, expressed concern about Segal’s record “of lobbying for Israel, opposing voices supporting Palestinian human rights and painting all Jews as supporters of Israel’s actions.”
“By appointing a pro-war voice to this position, the administration risks creating division, increasing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, and ultimately making Jews less safe,” the council said in a statement.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
