Australian special envoy recommends defunding institutions, individuals that fail to combat antisemitism

A new official report from Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to Combat Antisemitism, recommended the government block funding to institutions and individuals who fail to adequately oppose antisemitism.

“A major priority of the report was to ensure public institutions, particularly universities, were held accountable for addressing antisemitism,” the Associated Press reported.

Under the recommendations, “Segal would work with government to withhold funding from universities that fail to act against antisemitism,” and “public funding would be denied to cultural institutions, artists, broadcasters and individuals that ‘implicitly endorse antisemitic themes or narratives,’” the AP summarized.

In addition to its recommended withholding of public funds, the report said that “non-citizens involved in antisemitism should face visa cancellation and removal from Australia,” and that screening for antisemitism should be part of the country’s immigration process.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would consider the report’s various recommendations, adding that “this is something that the government needs to work with civil society on at all levels.”

Segal argued that the measures were a necessary reaction to a 300% rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia in the year following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“We’ve seen cars being torched, synagogues being torched, individual Jews harassed and attacked, and that is completely unacceptable,” she said.

Segal said that while she hopes to combat antisemitism, she did not believe it could be completely eradicated.

“Given its age-old heritage, we cannot hope to really abolish antisemitism, but we can push it to the margins of society,” she stated.

Critics of the report’s recommendations argue that the enforcement of such measures will likely falsely conflate criticism of the Israeli government with hatred towards Jews in general.

Prime Minister Albanese publicly sought to quell these fears, indicating that no one would be targeted for merely criticizing the State of Israel.

“I have released statements with other leaders that have been critical of the actions of the Netanyahu government,” he said.

“Whatever your issue in the Middle East, it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity.”

The position of Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia was created by Albanese in 2024, in an effort to “preserve social cohesion.”

The official announcement of Segal’s appointment to the role stated that “as Special Envoy, Ms Segal AO will listen to and engage with Jewish Australians, the wider Australian community, religious discrimination experts and all levels of government on the most effective way to combat Antisemitism.”

A similar position, the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia in Australia, was also created last year.