Jillian Segal a top executive at pro-Israel lobby group

EXCLUSIVE

ANTHONY KLAN

INVESTIGATION

Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal — whose is paid over $1,000 a day in a role costing taxpayers over $1 million a year — is a top executive of a pro-Israel lobby group.

The Klaxon can exclusively reveal Segal is a current — not a former — top executive of “peak” lobby group the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), which heavily lobbies government and media with a deeply pro-Israel agenda.

Segal had been President of the ECAJ for four years to 2023 — a past position which many experts have said should have disqualified her from the role of Antisemitism Envoy — yet investigations show she still remains in one of the lobby group’s most senior roles.

Segal is one of just five office bearers — top executives — of the ECAJ.

She held that position when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed her as Antisemitism Envoy in July last year — and has held it at all times since.

“Segal is one of just five office bearers — top executives — of the ECAJ”

The ECAJ’s four other office bearers are its President, Deputy President, Treasurer and Secretary, shows the lobby group’s constitution.

The explosive revelations have gone undetected by media — and apparently by government — because the name of Segal’s official title at the ECAJ is “Immediate Past President”.

That is, Segal is both the most recent former president of the ECAJ — its immediate past president — and its current “Immediate Past President”, a current, top-level role of the ECAJ.

The position of “Immediate Past President” is so integral to the ECAJ and its operations it is written into the ECAJ’s constitution.

 

The document reveals that as “Immediate Past President”, Segal is also member of the ECAJ executive, leading its “Committee of Management”, which formulates the lobby group’s “policy and direction”.

The revelations raise serious questions around foreign interference.

The highly-partisan, pro-Israel ECAJ has lobbied for crackdowns on protestors; heavily criticised the Albanese Government’s recognition of the Palestinian state; and this week heavily criticised United Nations Commission of Inquiry findings that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

As Antisemitism Envoy, Segal has taken extreme stances, such as calling for pro-Palestinian demonstrations to be “banned” from Australia’s cities and has called for sweeping new speech laws.

In her July 10 Antisemitism Report, Segal called for defunding schools, universities and cultural bodies that “facilitate or fail to act against antisemitism” — moves described as “chilling” by Amnesty International — and announced plans to “monitor” media.

Investigations show the recommendations in Segal’s July 10 report are extremely similar to the ECAJ’s “15-point Plan of Action” on antisemitism, released by the lobby group in February.

On the afternoon July 10 — despite Segal having only just made her 20-page report public — the ECAJ “immediately” released a statement that it “strongly endorsed” the 20-page plan and that it was “fully aligned with the ECAJ’s thinking”.

The ECAJ did not state how it was in a position to endorse the report immediately after it was publicly released.

Neither the ECAJ statement — or Segal’s report — disclosed that Segal is an officeholder of the lobby group.

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As previously revealed, Segal is paid a daily rate of $1,070 by taxpayers, and has appointed six staff in two cities, with the Antisemitism Envoy role costing the public well over $1m a year.

On Friday last week Anti-islamophobia Envoy Aftab Malik released his Report on Islamophobia, including recommendations for action.

Malik’s report cites 84 sources, spanning a full four pages, as well as the names 30 national and international academics experts he consulted.

Segal’s report cites no sources at all.

As previously reported, Segal’s report cites just one — unsourced — set of figures, which are directly from the ECAJ.

Segal’s report makes no mention of the ECAJ, or that she is an ECAJ official.

The Federal Government, including Albanese, did not respond when asked whether they were aware that Segal remained in a senior role at the ECAJ.

Albanese’s  announcement of Segal’s appointment on July 9 last year strongly suggests he was unaware she remained a current ECAJ officeholder, referring to her as a “former President” of the ECAJ.

“Ms Segal’s extensive career spans decades in both the public and private sector, including as former President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,” it states.

Segal refused to respond when asked whether she had properly disclosed her ongoing role at the ECAJ when appointed as Antisemitism Envoy, or at any time since.

 

That Segal runs a major lobby group presents the government with a serious new headache, and puts yet more pressure on Albanese — who has to date refused to comment over the Advance scandal — to remove her from her post.

The revelations are particularly remarkable given Segal’s role is to provide “advice to the Prime Minister and to the Minister for Home Affairs to inform policy development [and] legislation”, according to her terms of reference.

“Segal’s role is to provide the Prime Minister with advice on policy and legislation”

The Federal Government has said Segal’s role is to “report to and advise the Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, and Cyber Security”.

There are already widespread calls for Segal to resign or be sacked, after a July 12 expose by The Klaxon detailed how her family trust was one of the biggest funders of far-right, anti-immigration political lobby group “Advance”, which aggressively spreads racist tropes and bigoted imagery.

 

In the 2023-24 financial year, the most recent data, the Henroth Discretionary Trust gave Advance $50,000 in the making it Advance’s tied second biggest funder.

Following The Klaxon’s July 10 expose Immigration Minister Tony Bourke revealed to ABC’s 7.30 that Segal, appointed to “social cohesion” — had not disclosed the $50,000 Advance payment before accepting the role of Antisemitism Envoy.

The Australian Friends of Palestine Association; the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network; the Greens; the Arab Council Australia; the Lebanese Muslim Association; the Alliance of Australians for Muslims and the Australian National Imams Council have all issued statements in direct response to The Klaxon’s July 12 expose.

 

The far-right, highly divisive, Advance aggressively spreads online disinformation and clinically disseminates hateful — often AI generated — material to its hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.

Segal has not criticised Advance at any stage.

She has refused to comment on the $50,000 payment, beyond issuing a vague, two-sentence statement on July 13, suggesting — though not directly stating — her husband John Roth is responsible.

Segal has repeatedly refused to comment on the August 31 nationwide anti-immigration rallies, which were marred by race hate and violence.

Albanese said Segal was appointed “as part of our ongoing efforts to preserve social cohesion in Australia”.

 

More than 380 academics have signed an open letter calling for Segal’s report to be rejected, stating its proposals have “nothing to do with combating antisemitism” and “everything to do with censoring criticism of Israel”.

“Segal’s proposals are about ‘limiting and censoring criticism of Israel, say more than 380 academics”

The National Union of Students said Segal’s “Trumpian” plan was “serious overreach” and undermined the independence of higher education.

The ECAJ’s constitution shows Segal is an ECAJ office bearer; an ECAJ Councillor; and an executive of the ECAJ’s “Committee of Management”, which is responsible for formulating the lobby group’s “policy and direction”.

 

More from The Klaxon:

Aug 31: Peak Jewish group attacks racism survey

Aug 8: EXCLUSIVE: Segal’s “husband” donation claims crumble

July 29: Segal seeking to put unis “under control of a political lobby”

July 16: Government must explain over Segal: Peak Muslim bodies

July 14: “Segal must resign” – Top Muslim body

July 12: Jillian Segal and husband funding far-right group “Advance”

 

The ECAJ’s website lists Segal along side “Honorary Treasurer” Peter Wise and “Honorary Secretary” Anton Block.

The ECAJ’s constitution shows the the roles are fully-functional, not merely ceremonial. That is, “Honorary Treasurer” Wise is the ECAJ’s Treasurer and “Honorary Secretary” Block is the ECAJ’s Secretary.

Segal is named as as “Immediate Past President”, an “office holder”, and appears separately on the ECAJ’s list of past presidents.

The title of Segal’s current role has confused media, with her reported as “a past president of the ECAJ”.

Segal’s appointment as Antisemitism Envoy was overseen by Immigration Minister Bourke.

Bourke fronted media following the July 12 Advance expose, but has kept a low profile since.

 

Last month the ECAJ attacked the Federal Government’s recognition of Palestine, labelling it a “betrayal”.

“Israel will feel wronged and abandoned by a longstanding ally,” the lobby group said.

On Wednesday the ECAJ released a statement attacking the UN Human Rights Council’s genocide findings as “lacking any semblance of legal rigour or moral authority”

“The ECAJ has strongly condemned the report of the so-called ‘Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel’,” the lobby group states.

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Anthony Klan

Editor, The Klaxon