SMH | Antisemitism envoy distances herself from husband’s donation to right-wing lobby group

[Aleph Melbourne notes that Advance Australia actively campaigns against progressive causes including LGBTIQA+ issues]


Antisemitism envoy distances herself from husband’s donation to right-wing lobby group

Olivia Ireland

By Olivia Ireland

July 13, 2025 — 5.00pm

Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal has distanced herself from donations by her husband’s family trust to controversial conservative lobby group Advance Australia days after she released recommendations on how the government needs to respond to rising hate towards Jewish people.

Australian Electoral Commission donation records lodged by a company Segal’s husband John Roth is a director of show that the Roth family trust, Henroth, gave $50,000 to Advance in 2023-24.

Advance Australia has previously said a vote for Labor is endorsed by the Chinese Community Party, that teal candidates are hidden Green politicians and accused left-leaning politicians of being “mostly on the same side as Hamas”.

Jillian Segal and John Roth.Credit:Facebook

Segal’s role as envoy is to fight antisemitism and enhance social cohesion, and she has asked for endorsement of her report on combating antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explicitly said he did not want the report to be politicised.

In a statement, Segal said she had no influence on the donations made by Roth’s trust. “No one would tolerate or accept my husband dictating my politics, and I certainly won’t dictate his. I have had no involvement in his donations, nor will I,” she said.

ASIC documents show Henroth Investments Pty Ltd is co-directed by Stanley and John Roth. AEC donation records state the company lodged its donation return on behalf of Henroth Discretionary Trust.

The company has also previously given money to the Liberal Party. Henroth was named after their father Henry Roth, who was a successful property developer.

The brothers own gelato chain Gelatissimo which has stores across Australia and globally in the Philippines, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the US.

The donation was first reported by Guardian Australia and The Klaxon.

There is no suggestion Segal was aware of a donation or that it has affected her work.

Segal was previously a prominent lawyer and eventually partner for what was then called Allen, Allen and Hemsley before leaving to become a commissioner and later deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.Credit:Dylan Coker

She has also served on boards for the Australian Securities Exchange, the National Bank of Australia, served on the council of the Australian War Memorial and was deputy chancellor of the University of NSW.

Segal also is the immediate past president of the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry.

Lobby group Advance Australia prominently campaigned against the 2023 Voice Referendum and during the 2022 and 2025 elections shared various banners and ads against the Greens, teal independents and Labor.

Trucks were seen across the country in 2022 with slogans comparing the Australian Labor Party to the Chinese Community Party, with an image of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and a caption stating: “CCP says vote Labor”.

The lobby group in late 2024 also released a petition, which remains on its website, calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stand up to pro-Palestine activists.

“[Pro-Palestine activists] have the full backing of the elites – the Labor/Green/Teal politicians, the media, the universities and the taxpayer funded bureaucrats and nonprofits are now mostly on the same side as Hamas,” the petition said.

Advance Australia has been contacted for comment.

On Thursday, Segal released her antisemitism report beside Albanese who said the government would consider all recommendations.

The report has sparked wide-ranging debate as it includes recommendations to rate universities on how they have cracked down on anti-Jewish hate and stripping funding from educational institutions, cultural events and charities that fail to address antisemitism.

A controversial definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association was also recommended to be adopted by all Australian institutions.

The definition has been embraced by Jewish groups and some parts of the Australian government for its clarity and breadth, but attacked by critics, who argue it stifles free speech and conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

Olivia Ireland

Olivia Ireland is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, reporting on political breaking news and workplace relations from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.

AJN Letters: Funding alert

Aleph Melbourne is committed to both the welfare of LGBTIQA+ people and combatting antisemitism in Melbourne’s Jewish Community.

On discovering J United’s decision to fund a campaign with money from Advance (“Jewish-led anti-Greens campaign launches“; AJN Jan 30 2025), the latter an organisation that strongly campaigns against transgender rights, Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett responded with a letter to the editor.


Funding alert

It alarms me that J United has resorted to taking money from conservative lobby group Advance, which has campaigned hard against LGBTIQA+, Indigenous and other progressive causes for many years. History has taught us that people who are intolerant of diversity tend to be intolerant of Jews too. When a Jewish organisation takes money and in-kind support from Advance, they are inadvertently harming other vulnerable minorities in the pursuit of eradicating antisemitism.

I can’t say whether Advance genuinely care about Jews and antisemitism, however I am confident their motivation is not rooted in benevolence. They are a hardline outfit that promotes division and intolerance. I call on the Jewish community to fundraise from reputable sources.

Michael Barnett
Ashwood, Vic


AJN Letters to the Editor; February 14 2025

Aleph Melbourne will continue to stand up for the rights, visibility and inclusion of all LGBTIQ+ people, both in the Jewish community and beyond it.


UPDATE: March 12 2025

Two responses to this letter were published in the Australian Jewish News (“Defending Advance” by Michael Burd; Feb 21 2025 and “Straightforward” by Dan Coleman; Feb 28 2025):


Just.Equal MR: Anti-Semitism envoy highlights need for LGBTIQA+ rights commissioner

Media Release
Wednesday July 10th 2024

Anti-Semitism envoy highlights need for LGBTIQA+ rights commissioner

Just.Equal Australia has renewed its call for a national LGBTIQA+ Commissioner following the appointment of Jillian Segal as Australia’s first anti-Semitism envoy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the appointment of Segal is in response to rising hate, will “promote social cohesion” and will be followed by the appointment of an envoy against Islamophobia.

Just.Equal Australia spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said,

“The appointment of envoys against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, highlights the absence of a national official advocating for the LGBTIQA+ community.”

“Rising hate against LGBTIQA+ people demands a response from the federal government in the form of an LGBTIQA+ Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.”

“The Australian Human Rights Commission has commissioners for first nations, culturally diverse communities, women, older and younger people, people with disability, and for human rights, but no dedicated commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Australians.”

“This sends the message that the human rights of LGBTIQA+ people, and discrimination against us, are less important.”

Mr Croome said the Sex Discrimination Commissioner has an advisor on LGBTIQA+ human rights, but this is not enough to deal with the many challenges faced by LGBTIQA+ people or to send the message that their rights matter.

For a copy of this statement on the web, click here

For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668.

An open letter to the Australian LGBTIQA+ community

Aleph Melbourne was established in 1995 to provide a safe place for gay and bisexual Jewish men in Melbourne. Since then we have expanded to include LGBTIQA+ people, families and allies.

In all the years of the group’s existence we have lived in relative harmony with the wider LGBTIQA+ community.

However in recent weeks, since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and the ensuing war, many of our members, their family members and their friends have contacted me regarding reports of feeling unsafe in the LGBTIQA+ community.

These people have reported being scared of presenting as Jewish in public and on social media. There have been reports of antisemitism and calls for boycotting Jewish organisations by LGBTIQA+ people. There have been reports of feeling unsafe in LGBTIQA+ venues.

Aleph Melbourne’s purpose has always been to stand up for LGBTIQA+ people on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Now I am finding I need to support our members on the basis of their Jewish identity. This takes a personal toll on me, as it means I need to spend many more hours of my personal time fighting a different sort of intolerance.

I ask you, my friends, my community members, the leaders of the LGBTIQA+ community, to think of the ramifications of taking sides, especially when it has direct impact on the very people you care most about.

If LGBTIQA+ people are hurting in Melbourne or elsewhere in Australia because of antisemitism, or Islamophobia, or any sort of intolerance, then we are no longer a cohesive community. Together we stand. Divided we fall.

Please think hard before you take any side, especially if it’s going to cause division amongst your peers, friends, family (chosen or otherwise) or community.

Michael Barnett OAM
Co-Convenor, Aleph Melbourne.



Jewish Leaders Want to Ban Kanye West from Australia: ‘Don’t Want You Here’ | Newsweek

LGBTQ groups are also wary of Ye’s presence in the country, noting his apparent backflip in his support for the community when he invited rapper DaBaby to perform with him at his Donda album listening party in 2021. DaBaby has made multiple homophobic comments in the past.

“Until such time as Ye has unambiguously demonstrated he is a true friend of the Jewish people and has distanced himself from his hurtful antisemitic comments, and similarly has proven he is an LGBTIQ+ ally at least to the level he was in 2005, I support calls for the Australian government to deny him entry on character grounds,” said Michael Barnett, co-convenor of Aleph Melbourne, a Jewish LGBTQ group.

Jewish Leaders Want to Ban Kanye West from Australia: ‘Don’t Want You Here’

MR: Aleph Melbourne commends the Andrews government for strengthening anti-hate protections

MEDIA RELEASE
September 2 2021

Aleph Melbourne commends the Victorian Government, under the leadership of Premier Daniel Andrews, for its ongoing commitment to protecting all Victorians from hate, and for standing steadfastly strong with Jewish and LGBTIQ+ Victorians.

Along with making the public display of Nazi symbols illegal, we welcome the government’s commitment to extending anti-vilification protections to cover sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and HIV/AIDS status.

All too often homophobia is juxtaposed with antisemitism in wanton acts of hate, as evidenced by the attack on Cranbourne Golf Club last year[1] and the attack on the Gardiner’s Creek Trail in July this year[2].

It was with sadness that Aleph Melbourne’s submission to the Inquiry into Anti-Vilification Protections highlighted a litany of anti-LGBTIQ+ vilification emanating from within the Jewish community. We hope that these reforms will see the end of such intolerance, and allow those in our community who have been forced to live in the shadows to feel sufficiently empowered to come forward and live a more authentic life.

We are also grateful to David Southwick MP for inviting Aleph Melbourne to lodge a submission to the Inquiry, which the committee found most compelling.[3]

Michael Barnett
Co-convenor
Aleph Melbourne

CONTACT
michael@aleph.org.au
0417-595-541

RELATED MEDIA

  1. MR: Aleph Melbourne condemns Nazi defacement of resurfaced Gardiners Creek Trail (July 17 2021)
    https://aleph.org.au/2021/07/17/mr-aleph-melbourne-condemns-nazi-defacement-of-resurfaced-gardiners-creek-trail
  2. Response to attack on Cranbourne Golf Club (May 21 2020)
    https://aleph.org.au/2020/05/21/response-to-attack-on-cranbourne-golf-club
  3. Letters: Tackling vilification | AJN (Mar 20 2021)
    https://aleph.org.au/2021/03/20/letters-tackling-vilification-ajn

ENDS

MR: Aleph Melbourne condemns Nazi defacement of resurfaced Gardiners Creek Trail

MEDIA RELEASE
July 17 2021


Aleph Melbourne condemns the senseless defacement and vandalisation of the freshly resurfaced Gardiners Creek Trail in Ashwood.

The presence of the Nazi swastika along with the accompanying words “KILL GAYS” is a chilling attack on not only Jews and gay people but on all minority groups.

It is unfortunate that a small number of people feel so insecure with themselves that they are drawn to destroy public property and peddle fear.

Sadly further public money will be required to erase this vandalism, which could have been put to better use.

Michael Barnett
Co-convenor
Aleph Melbourne

CONTACT
michael@aleph.org.au
0417-595-541

MEDIA
Original and enhanced images of the vandalism are available at this gallery:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rdndh5Rco2dKoovG8

ENDS

UPDATE – July 17, 6pm
City of Monash CEO Dr Andi Diamond advised Aleph Melbourne earlier this afternoon that a team was being dispatched to erase the vandalism

UPDATE – July 18, 11am
City of Monash attended the site of the vandalism yesterday as advised. They have covered up the swastikas with large yellow plates. The defacement is still in place, with the “KILL GAYS” wording still visible: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BmLkRNA7q1BiMPhG8

UPDATE – July 20, 7:30pm
The defacement has since been scrubbed from the concrete:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Fxeqb5xdGcJxFdRA


MEDIA COVERAGE
Star Observer
J-Wire
OUT in Perth

Response to attack on Cranbourne Golf Club

MEDIA RELEASE
May 21 2020

Response to attack on Cranbourne Golf Club

Aleph Melbourne is disturbed by the news of a pointless and senseless act of cowardly vandalism at Melbourne’s Cranbourne Golf Club.

The antisemitic and homophobic graffiti demonstrates profound immaturity and insensitivity by the perperator/s.

As a support group for LGBTIQ+ Jews we feel the pain doubly. We are targeted for being Jewish. We are targeted for our sexual orientation.

What makes this type of vandalism especially pernicious is that it was laced with hate. It wasn’t an ordinary case of self-expression on a fence or wall, but rather, a calculated and targeted act of intolerance designed to hurt people.

We hope that the perpetrator/s are brought to justice. More than that, we hope that they come to understand the nature of their crime and make amends for their actions.

END


MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Barnett (pronouns: he/him/his)
Co-convenor – Aleph Melbourne
0417-595-541
contact@aleph.org.au

SOURCE
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/golf-club-vandals-spray-swastikas-on-fourth-green-in-chilling-attack-20200521-p54v5t.html