Shoebridge demands Segal correct ‘inflated’ Gaza death toll claim
Meanwhile, Anne Aly – multicultural affairs minister and Jillian Segal’s boss – stays silent
Prominent Greens Senator David Shoebridge has called on the antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, to “correct the record” after she sensationally claimed last week the Gaza death toll was “grossly inflated”.
Segal made the remarks while testifying at the Royal Commission on July 9 in relation to coverage by SBS that included UN statistics on the Gaza death toll. Segal claimed the UN accepted the statistics were “grossly inaccurate” after a recount, but failed to provide evidence when pressed by Senior Counsel Assisting Richard Lancaster SC.
A fact check by Deepcut revealed several inaccuracies in Segal’s testimony and found no record of a UN statement to that effect.
“SBS and ABC have not reported death tolls that are ‘grossly inflated’, in fact the figures from the Gaza health ministry are conservative when compared to what other institutions, such as Lancet, have estimated,” Shoebridge told Deepcut.
“Claims by Ms Segal that the UN have said the figures are ‘grossly inaccurate’ must also be corrected, because they are not truthful. At a time when tensions are so high, people in positions of power and authority cannot be so casual with the truth, especially about a genocide,” he said.
A legal expert warned that Segal could be in risk of breaching the Royal Commission Act 1902 if found to have intentionally provided false or misleading evidence to the Commission.
Anne Aly silent as Segal’s power goes unchecked
Deepcut sent questions to the multicultural affairs minister and Segal’s boss, Anne Aly, regarding the inaccurate statements and potential risk of breach of the Royal Commission Act.
The minister, and only Muslim member of cabinet, failed to respond – an unusual practice for a sitting government minister. Government media departments typically respond to requests for comment, even if they intend to dismiss queries with generic answers.
Labor controversially handpicked Segal – former president of pro-Israel lobby group ECAJ – as Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism on July 9, 2024. This was despite several conflicts of interest, including her continued role as a top ECAJ executive and an international board member for Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science – a prominent research centre that assists the Israeli military in the development of AI, drones and advanced military technologies. Labor also refused to dismiss Segal after revelations her husband donated $50,000 to far-right campaign group, Advance Australia.
Instead, the unelected political appointee has seen her power grow, successfully pushing the federal government to adopt the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, which includes criticism of Israel.
The government has been quietly rolling out the definition across the public sector, while Segal presses for external oversight to vet ABC and SBS coverage for what would be deemed as objectionable criticism of Israel – an extraordinary interference in media reporting.
The Albanese government also handed $102m of taxpayer money to ECAJ in the last budget, and $26m to embed antisemitism curricula within education – fulfilling a key recommendation in Segal’s widely-criticised antisemitism action plan.
Palestinian voices must be heard
Another win for Segal was lobbying a reluctant federal government to agree to a Royal Commission on antisemitism in the aftermath of the Bondi shooting.
However, the Commission has come under fire for platforming pro-Israel perspectives without interrogation, while refusing to hear Palestinians and conduct a thorough examination as to the causes behind the Bondi shooting.
“The Royal Commission absolutely must hear from as broad a cross section of the community as possible,” Shoebridge said.
“Part of the task before this Royal Commission is to consider social cohesion, that cannot be validly done if it airbrushes out Palestinian voices and Palestinian experiences.
“Picking and choosing who is listened to, and who is silenced, based on a narrow political narrative will only degrade trust further. That is a pathway to less, not more, social cohesion.”
Listen to the latest episode of Deepthink – an hour-long talk with Palestinian scholar and author Tareq Baconi on the trauma of ethnic cleansing, growing up queer in Amman and why the Palestinian struggle is feminist.