Israeli Official Demands Grace Tame Lose Australian of the Year Honour
Grace Tame, the 2021 Australian of the Year, has sparked international controversy after Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel called for her to be stripped of the prestigious title. The demand follows Tame's recent comments on an Australian radio programme, where she claimed reports of sexual violence against Israeli women during the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, had been "debunked."
Accusations of Selective Outrage and Denial
In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Sharren Haskel launched a scathing critique of Tame's activism. "Grace Tame claims the mantle of activism, but her compassion is 'selective'," Haskel wrote. She accused Tame of choosing which victims to support while ignoring others, specifically pointing to crises across the Middle East.
"She did not stand with the women of Iran as they were beaten, tortured, raped and then murdered by the regime," Haskel stated. The Israeli official further criticised Tame for failing to speak up for persecuted Christian communities in Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.
Most pointedly, Haskel wrote: "She has not stood with Israeli women who were raped and sexually tortured as a weapon of war. In fact she's denied the horrors of October 7, because the victims were Jews."
Haskel concluded that this approach "is not principled activism. It is selective outrage driven by politics." She emphasised that international bodies, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, have repeatedly confirmed that sexual violence occurred during the Hamas attacks.
The Radio Interview That Sparked the Controversy
The controversy stems from an interview on ABC Sydney Mornings with host Hamish Macdonald. Macdonald, reading a question from a listener, asked Tame: "Can you please ask Grace why she is selective in her outrage? I have never heard her condemn or speak out on behalf of the Israeli women who were raped and killed by Hamas on October 7."
Tame immediately rejected the premise of the question. "I'm not going to sink to the level of… entertaining any kind of propaganda, Hamish. Let's not do that," she responded.
When Macdonald pressed her, asking "What's the propaganda included in that question?", Tame replied: "Those things have been debunked."
Tame's Defence and Broader Commentary
Grace Tame went on to clarify her position during the interview. She stated that "awful things are being perpetrated by both sides" and that she was "outraged by all of the violence."
"Clearly I don't support any of it," she said. "I am a human rights activist who advocates for the safety of all human beings, no matter their background, whether they are Jewish, whether they are Muslims, whether they are Christian, whether they are atheist."
Tame reflected on her own traumatic experiences, revealing: "As someone who was raped multiple times as a child, I have seen the horrendous things human beings are capable of." She insisted she did not dismiss any allegations of violence, but urged Australians to understand the broader context of the conflict.
"As someone who has been raped multiple times as a child myself… I do not dismiss any of it, no matter who the perpetrator is, and no matter who the victim is," she affirmed.
Calling for Context and Critiquing Rhetoric
Tame also argued that Australians should consider how Palestinians perceive common political rhetoric surrounding the conflict. "I would say to those people, what do you think a Palestinian feels or an Arab person feels when they hear phrases like 'Israel has a right to defend itself'? What are they defending themselves against? And what does that defence look like?" she questioned.
She offered her own perspective: "From where I'm sitting, and from where a lot of people are sitting, that defence looks like blowing up schoolchildren, blowing up hospitals, aid sites, and indiscriminately targeting civilians. So do you not think that that's offensive as well?"
The Demand to Revoke the Honour
In light of these comments, Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel has explicitly called for Tame to lose her Australian of the Year award. "If an award is meant to represent moral courage and universal human rights, then those who apply those principles selectively should not hold it," Haskel asserted.
She concluded her statement with a direct demand: "Grace Tame should lose her Australian of the Year award." The call has placed the Australian government in a difficult position, with the Daily Mail reporting that Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been contacted for comment on the matter.
The incident highlights the intense international scrutiny on public figures who comment on the Israel-Hamas conflict and raises questions about the responsibilities associated with national honours like Australian of the Year.
