Published: 10 September 2026
Last updated: 15 September 2026
Six months after dismissing the October 7 rapes as “propaganda” which had been “debunked”, Grace Tame has “clarified” her remarks, saying she believes Israeli survivors of sexual violence.
The former Australian of the Year and prominent campaigner against sexual violence apologised for harm caused by the “mischaracterisation” of her comments but not for the comments themselves.
“There is something I have wanted to clarify for a while, which I regret not clarifying sooner,” Tame said in a video posted on Instagram today.
“I stand with survivors of sexual violence everywhere, no matter who they are. Comments I made on ABC radio in March this year were misinterpreted to mean that I disbelieve Israeli survivors of sexual violence. This is not the case. I always have, and always will, stand with survivors of sexual violence.
“Human Rights Watch was unable to find evidence to support the claim that Israeli women were raped en masse on October 7, 2023. However, I do not deny the legitimate accusations of rape made by individual Israeli women, including accounts of gang rape. I do not hate Israelis. I do not hate Jewish people.
“I abhor the crimes of the State of Israel. I believe Israeli survivors. I believe Jewish survivors as I believe all survivors. While the intention of my remarks was not to imply otherwise, I acknowledge and sincerely apologise for any harm their mischaracterisation has caused.”
Tame's comments come on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, when repentance and forgiveness are the subject of the season, but Jewish leaders were quick to respond that her remarks fall short of a meaningful apology.
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) president Lynda Ben-Menashe said Tame had not dealt with the real problem her earlier comments caused, which had fanned the flames of incitement against Australian Jews.
Comments1
Steve Holstein11 September at 02:43 am
It is deeply confronting for all Australians, and especially for Australian Jewish women, when a former Australian of the Year denies the victims of Hamas sexual violence in the face of such overwhelming evidence.
Grace Tame does not fit the stereotype of a malicious figure driven by outright hatred. We see instead the acute effect of cognitive dissonance and motivated reasoning. These are patterns that play out unashamedly, far too frequently across our society and social media. When factual reality conflicts directly with deeply held political worldviews, individuals commonly shield themselves from processing atrocities committed by those they identify with, instinctively dismissing credible evidence as state or media manipulation.
This is compounded by political subcultures that operate inside rigid information silos, where belonging is conditional on accepting a curated groupthink, conform or you are cast out; a world of strict binaries, oppressor / oppressed, good / evil. Anyone perceived as the opposing side is deemed unworthy of basic human empathy.
For a survivor whose own lived experience centered on severe breaches of trust by authority figures, viewing the world through such lenses can be compelling. Yet Grace Tame is neither the first nor an isolated captive of these toxic spaces.