Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has provoked fury after claiming that sexual violence carried out against Israeli women by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack ‘have been debunked’.
Tame was asked by ABC Sydney Mornings host Hamish Macdonald whether she had publicly condemned the extreme sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7, 2023.
‘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.
‘Have you spoken about that, have you expressed outrage about that?’
‘I’m not going to sink to the level of … of entertaining any kind of propaganda, Hamish. Let’s not do that,’ Tame said.
‘What’s the propaganda included in that question,’ Macdonald asked.
‘Those things have been debunked,’ Tame said.
Macdonald raised the findings of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, which had concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe conflict-related sexual violence took place during the attacks.
‘So are you saying that’s propaganda?’ he asked.
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has provoked fury after claiming that sexual violence carried out against Israeli women by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack ‘have been debunked’
‘Awful things are being perpetrated by both sides, but this is not about “whataboutism”. This is not about selective outrage. I’m outraged by all of the violence. Would that we could get it all to stop,’ 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.’
National Council of Jewish Women Australia president Lynda Ben-Menashe has condemned Tame’s comments.
‘On October 7, thousands of male terrorists streamed over the border from Gaza to torture, rape and murder Israeli people in the most heinous ways,’ Ben-Menashe said.
‘For Tame to claim this fact has been ‘debunked’ is repugnant. The terrorists themselves filmed their actions, the UN has accepted its veracity and made its own pronouncements, and organisations such as the Dinah Project have provided the legal case. The ICC announced arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, citing crimes including rape and sexual assault in detention.
‘All this is in addition to the powerful and heartbreaking statements from female and male survivors, witnesses and first responders.
‘Many of the 251 hostages taken that day were regularly sexually abused during their captivity. Arbel Yahud, for example, has spoken of daily sexual abuse by her Islamic Jihad captors, which led her to three suicide attempts.
‘For Tame to call this ‘propaganda’ is not only a wilful denial and distortion, but also an outrageous insult to both the survivors and those who did not survive.
‘We can only speculate about the reason someone who claims to fight for all victims of sexual abuse makes an exception when those victims are Jews.’
Tame’s latest comments come after she revealed her lucrative speaking gigs have all but dried up in the wake of her shouting ‘globalise the intifada’ at a pro-Palestine rally.
‘Ever since then, there have been countless articles, talk show segments, radio interviews, and headlines defaming me – essentially painting me as a terror sympathiser and an anti-Semite,’ she said.
‘And there has been a concerted sort of shadowy campaign run by the Israel lobby behind closed doors — largely anonymous individuals writing letters pressuring the organisers of the events that I have been doing, or was slated to do, to drop me – and they have had some success.’
The Daily Mail understands that Tame charged about $20,000 per corporate speaking event, as of 2023 – meaning she has lost a considerable source of revenue.
