Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has closed her charity, the Grace Tame Foundation, just weeks after claiming her speaking engagements dried up following controversial pro-Palestine comments. The foundation, established in 2021 to advocate for sexual violence survivors, announced its closure on Thursday, citing challenges in sustaining long-term funding.
The charity's latest financial report revealed losses of $180,000 over two years, though it stated there were 'reasonable grounds' to believe it could pay its debts, with total equity of $129,563. The board, which includes Tame, professor Michael Salter, lawyer Michael Bradley, and abuse survivor Scarlett Franks, said in a statement: 'The Foundation has reached a crossroads. Like many small advocacy organisations, sustaining long-term funding for this work has become increasingly challenging.'
The closure follows intense backlash Tame faced after shouting 'globalise the intifada' at a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit in Sydney in February. The term refers to violent uprisings involving civilian targeting. Tame also faced calls to be stripped of her Australian of the Year honour, and a petition signed by over 25,000 people called for charges of criminal incitement.
In March, during an ABC radio segment, Tame wrongly claimed reports of sexual violence against Israeli women by Hamas on October 7 'have been debunked'. She later wrote a first-person piece for Crikey, stating she was the victim of a 'smear campaign' and that her speaking gigs had been withdrawn, adding: 'I do not condone antisemitism, Islamophobia or hatred of any kind.'
