Jillian Segal

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Jillian Segal
AO
1st Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Appointed byAnthony Albanese
Personal details
Born5 November 1955
Johannesburg,
South Africa
SpouseJohn Roth
EducationUniversity of New South Wales
Harvard Law School

Jillian Shirley Segal AO (born 5 November 1955) is an Australian lawyer, business executive and Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.[1] She is known for her contributions on the boards of government, commercial and non-profit organisations.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Segal was born in Johannesburg.[4] She is Jewish.[5] Moving to Sydney, she completed her education at Kambala School in 1973. She then graduated from the University of New South Wales with a BA/LLB and won the University Medal in Law in 1979.[6] Segal received an LLM from Harvard Law School.[2]

Career

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Segal's first job was associate to Sir Anthony Mason, judge in the High Court of Australia. She joined Allen, Allen and Hemsley as a senior associate and was promoted to partner, before leaving to serve as a commissioner and subsequently deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.[2]

From 2003 to 2015 she was on the board of the Australian Securities Exchange and from 2004 to 2016 on the board of the National Australia Bank. She served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial from 2014 to 2017 and was deputy chancellor of the University of New South Wales from 2010 to 2019.[3] She has been chair of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce since 2015.[7][8][9]

Since 2008 Segal has been chairman of the General Sir John Monash Foundation that administers the John Monash Scholarships.[10] She has served on the board of the Sydney Opera House Trust since 2014.[3]

Segal was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to business law in Australia, particularly in the areas of financial services reform and market regulation, and to the community through a range of organisations".[11] She was promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the banking and financial regulation sectors, to not-for-profit organisations, and to women".[12]

As of 2022 Segal is a community representative on the Council for the Order of Australia.[13] She has been a board member of the Garvan Institute since 2009.[14] She is the immediate past president of the "ardently pro-Israel" Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).[15][16]

On 11 October 2023 in a rally for Israel vigil after 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Segal, then President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said "Our world has changed, the barbarians have breached the gates."[17]

Israel advocacy

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Segal has long been an advocate for Israel in Australia. In November 2023, she co-signed a statement condemning foreign minister Penny Wong and the Labor party for calling for Israel to "cease the attacking of hospitals", and its support for a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire.[15]

Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism

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Further information: Antisemitism in Australia

On 9 July 2024, Segal was appointed for a term of three years Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism to the Australian Government by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.[5][18] The appointment came after campaigning by Jewish communal organisations to create a position to fight the rise in antisemitism post 7 October 2023.[19] Segal's appointment was praised by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the representative body of Jews in Australia,[20] and received support from the federal Coalition.[21][22] The Jewish Council of Australia, a community group formed in February 2024 critical of the State of Israel, opposed Segal's appointment.[5][23][24] Segal's statements and positions on antisemitism in Australia include the view that antisemitism at universities had become 'systemic'.[25]

In January 2025, Segal criticised lenient sentencing for antisemitic offences as a factor undermining efforts to address hate crimes against the Australian Jewish community, and called for mandatory sentencing for individuals attacking synagogues. Following an increase in attacks on synagogues and Jewish homes in the prior months, Segal called on Albanese and state premiers to convene a national cabinet meeting. She argued that urgent action is required to implement tougher sentencing guidelines and ensure more consistent prosecution of antisemitic hate crimes.[26][27] In response, Albanese rejected both of Segal's requests, and stated that sentencing should be left to judges and that he would not need to convene a national cabinet as he discussed the matter with the premiers of Victoria and New South Wales.[28]

In July 2025, Segal recommended she become a monitor of media organisations, with the ability to "readily terminate" funding for public institutions, such as universities, festivals and public broadcasters, if they fail to combat antisemitism. A judicial inquiry would be established into antisemitism at universities by the start of 2026 if the envoy determined matters had remained unaddressed.[29]

Controversies

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Donations to lobby group

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In the 2023–24 financial year, her and her husband John Roths family trust, the Henroth Discretionary Trust, operating through a trustee company, Henroth Investments Pty Ltd, directed by Segal's husband and his brother Stanley made a AU$50,000 donation to conservative political lobby group Advance.[30][31] This caused controversy for Segal when news website The Klaxon reported on the donation in July 2025, claiming Segal and her husband were major funders of Advance.[32] In response to this allegation, Segal denied being involved in the donation and said that she regarded the activities of her husband as separate from her own, stating that "no one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won't dictate his".[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Incoming Passenger Card - Jillian Segal (NAA: A1197, SEABORN-SELIMOVIC)". National Archives of Australia. 28 January 1970. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Segal, Jillian". Australian Women Lawyers as Active Citizens. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Our People". Sydney Opera House. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Segal, Jillian Shirley". The Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Evans, Jake (9 July 2024). "Prime minister names Jillian Segal as first Australian anti-Semitism envoy". ABC News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Jillian Segal AO '73" (PDF). Kambala School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  7. ^ Narunsky, Gareth (12 January 2015). "Passing the baton at AICC". Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  8. ^ Aharon, Yaakov (24 December 2024). "Jillian Segal's many hats: Special Envoy for Antisemitism and Israel lobbyist extraordinaire". Michael West Media. Archived from the original on 27 May 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  9. ^ "About". General Sir John Monash Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 May 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Jillian S Segal AM". National Australia Bank. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Ms Jillian Shirley Segal". It's an Honour. 13 June 2005. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Ms Jillian Shirley Segal AM". It's an Honour. 26 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Council for the Order of Australia". The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2019. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b Keane, Bernard (10 September 2024). "Jillian Segal is an envoy for Israel, banking misconduct, and not much else". Crikey. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  16. ^ Narunksy, Gareth. "Sydney's Jewish community comes together in solidarity". Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  17. ^ "'Our world has changed': Thousands gather in Sydney for Israel vigil". SBS News. AAP. 11 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  18. ^ Visontay, Elias and Wind, Emily (9 July 2024). "'A long way to go' on combating domestic violence, PM says – as it happened". The Guardian. Prime minister announces special envoy on antisemitism. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  19. ^ Visontay, Michael (9 July 2024). "Jillian Segal appointed as first Australian antisemitism envoy". The Jewish Independent. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Australia appoints special envoy to combat anti-Semitism". Al Jazeera. 9 July 2024. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  21. ^ Sakkal, Paul (9 July 2024). "Albanese shocked by ignorance of antisemitism". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  22. ^ Kelly, Cait and Wind, Emily (10 July 2024). "Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  23. ^ Hill, Bruce (18 July 2024). "Fringe group labels Jillian Segal pro-war". Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  24. ^ Wedesweiler, Madeleine (9 July 2024). "Anthony Albanese announces antisemitism envoy, says Jewish people 'do not feel safe'". SBS News. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  25. ^ Kolieb, Sharyn (12 September 2024). "Special envoy: Antisemitism at universities 'systemic'". Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  26. ^ Demetriadi, Alexi and Farmakis, Bianca (15 January 2025). "'Democracy is at stake': SOS from Anthony Albanese's anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  27. ^ Wong, Kat and Mitchell, Alex (15 January 2025). "Calls to consider jail time as anti-Semitism grows". The Canberra Times. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  28. ^ Denholm, Matthew (15 January 2025). "PM rejects envoy Jillian Segal's call on synagogues, sentencing". The Australian. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  29. ^ Evans, Jake (10 July 2025). "Antisemitism plan would strip funding from unis, arts events who fail to fight Jewish hate". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  30. ^ Wedesweiler, Madeleine (13 July 2025). "Antisemitism envoy denies involvement in husband's trust donation to anti-immigrant group". SBS News. Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Australia's antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal said she had no involvement in her husband's $50,000 donation to a far-right anti-immigrant lobby group
  31. ^ Butler, Josh (14 July 2025). "Antisemitism envoy denies involvement in major donation by husband's company to rightwing group Advance". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 14 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  32. ^ Klan, Anthony (12 July 2025). "Jillian Segal and husband funding far-right group "Advance"". The Klaxon. Archived from the original on 12 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  33. ^ Johnson, Paul (14 July 2025). "Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says he believes antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal did not know husband's trust donated to Advance". 7.30. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025 – via ABC News. "No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won't dictate his," Ms Segal told SBS on Sunday.