Australia's antisemitism envoy proposes ombudsman to monitor ABC, SBS

Plan would screen visa applicants for antisemitic views

Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, released an updated government plan on Friday that would create an “external independent ombudsman” to monitor ABC and SBS coverage of the war in Gaza and would screen all visa applicants for “the risk of holding antisemitic views.”

In the new ASECA Priorities plan, Segal wrote that “given the extent and seriousness of concerns about subjective, inaccurate and disproportionate reporting in accordance with its own standards, it would be in the public interest for the public broadcasters’ coverage and approach to be the subject of more detailed analysis and independent review.” She suggested a government-appointed panel review the broadcasters’ previous reporting and said the government should consider “transferring” responsibilities from the ABC and SBS ombudsmen to an “external independent ombudsman consistent with other sectors such as telecommunications and banking.”

“Many in the Jewish community remain concerned that coverage they perceive as one-directional may contribute to a negative – and even hostile – view by audiences of those who support Israel, or have sympathy for it,” Segal wrote. “Jewish Australians have reported being abused, harassed and accused of being ‘baby killers’ or supporters of ‘genocide’ simply for their belief in the right of Israel to exist.” “That perception of a link between coverage and hostility is itself a matter of public importance,” she wrote.

Segal said she had received “many expressions of concern from the Australian Jewish community” about ABC and SBS reporting perceived as “disproportionate, misleading or inaccurate on issues relating to Israel and the conflict in the Middle East.” Her initial plan, released in mid-2025, had said the envoy would “work with the publicly funded broadcasters to encourage them to develop programs that add to social cohesion.” In mid-2026 she told the royal commission into antisemitism that she wanted a new “oversight” committee that could give ABC and SBS coverage a “tick” or “guidance.” The broadcasters rejected calls for external oversight.

The royal commission was established in response to the Bondi beach massacre in December, when 15 people were killed during a Hanukah celebration. Segal appeared before Senate estimates this week, telling senators she held concerns about “the tone [and] the frequency of reporting about Gaza from the ABC.” The updated plan was released two days after that appearance.

Friday’s report proposes that all visa applicants wanting to travel to Australia be assessed for “the risk of holding antisemitic views.” “It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that a minority of migrants bring to Australia ingrained antisemitic views. This is often a function of migrating from countries or environments where antisemitism is commonplace and reinforced by political, religious, educational and cultural institutions or leadership,” Segal wrote. “Advice from security agencies and relevant third parties should inform the classification of the level of risk of different jurisdictions.” The report says the home affairs department should prioritise “the identification of antisemitic conduct before visa grant, including through new technological capabilities and thorough consideration of information already recorded on a client’s record.”

Segal also suggested that publicly funded arts organisations be able to impose “enforceable conditions” on artists and terminate grants if they promoted antisemitism. She said all arts organisations — private and public — should develop policies to govern the use of their venues, festivals and stages “or artists’ personal political or ideological activism outside the scope of the advertised show, performance or exhibition.” For universities, the plan proposes allowing grant authorities to impose enforceable conditions on academics, including “for the termination of grant funding … where the recipient engages in antisemitic speech or conduct.”

Segal said the proposals were “not about silencing criticism of Israel.” The report argues that “modern ‘progressive’ antisemitism” is the most pervasive form of the prejudice in Australia today. “It takes the hostility of Islamic extremism and far-left antisemitism, together with traditional antisemitic tropes, and gives it a respectable face through the language of social justice and human rights,” it states. Segal said Islamic extremism, far-left and far-right antisemitism were prevalent “and they require vigilance and laws that are properly enforced.” “But the form that is leaving Jewish Australians increasingly anxious and excluded is the one that has taken root in influential institutions, where Jewish Australians are being discriminated against, blamed and vilified for the actions of the government of the state of Israel,” she said.

The Progressive Jewish Council of Australia criticised the plan on Friday as “Trumpian,” arguing it was “a dangerous and ideologically driven roadmap that threatens freedom of speech, academic freedom and democratic rights, while failing to meaningfully address the causes of antisemitism.” The council said the envoy’s claims about “progressive antisemitism” verged on “conspiratorial.” Bart Shteinman, an executive officer at the council, said the report did “little to mask a rightwing ideology that will go to incredible lengths to silence those drawing attention to Israel’s genocide in Gaza” and that it sought “unprecedented oversight” over media, the arts and other organisations.

Segal also defended evidence she gave to the royal commission, during which she criticised SBS for quoting death toll figures provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health. She said those figures failed to distinguish combatants from civilians, were “grossly inflated” and their inflation was “well known and even accepted by the United Nations.” A spokesperson for the UN secretary general responded at the time: “For us [the UN], the Ministry of Health in Gaza is a source we, and many others, often cite. Independent validation of subsets of the data has found no significant discrepancies in their numbers.” Segal told the estimates hearing this week: “I note the United Nations views. I accept the United Nations views because they are the United Nations but that does not detract from the concerns of the Jewish community as conveyed to me about the way in which the reporting had been done.”

The Guardian sought comment from the ABC, SBS, the Executive Council of Australia Jewry and the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network.