Grace Tame clarifies comments on sexual violence reports during Hamas attacks

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has clarified comments she made during an ABC interview about reports of sexual violence by terrorist group Hamas.

Ms Tame faced criticism after a March ABC Radio Sydney interview in which she likened reports of mass sexual assault during the attacks on October 7, 2023, to "propaganda".

After several months, Ms Tame posted to Instagram on Thursday, saying those comments were "misinterpreted".

"There is something I have wanted to clarify for a while, which I regret not clarifying sooner," she said.

"I stand with survivors of sexual violence everywhere, no matter who they are."

She continued in her Instagram video to allege her views were based on Human Rights Watch reports, where they were "unable to find evidence to support the claim that Israeli women were raped en mass on October 7, 2023".

United Nations officials in 2024 found there were reasonable grounds to believe conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred at several locations during Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel.

"However, I do not deny the legitimate accusations of rape made by individual Israeli women, including accounts of gang rape," Ms Tame said.

"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."

Grace Tame interviewed over previous comments

Ms Tame had appeared on ABC Radio Sydney to discuss her interpretation of the phrase "globalise the intifada".

She also responded to claims she had been selective in her outrage and accusations she had never spoken on behalf of the Israeli women believed to have been sexually assaulted on October 7.

"I'm not going to sink to the level of entertaining any kind of propaganda," she said at the time.

"Those things have been debunked.

"Awful things are being perpetrated by both sides. This is not selective outrage. I'm outraged by all of the violence."

Her interview was met with criticism from the Israeli embassy in Australia , which accused Ms Tame of losing her "moral compass".

The ABC Ombudsman later found the interview did not breach editorial standards, and met "the standards for ensuring accuracy in live radio interviews".

The embassy in Canberra had also raised concerns over previous comments by Ms Tame about her use of the phrase "globalise the intifada".

She was criticised by federal MPs and the NSW premier for leading a chant using the phrase at a rally against Israeli President Isaac Herzog during his visit to Australia.

"Globalise the intifada" is a contentious phrase that the state government has been considering outlawing under revised hate speech laws.

The word "intifada" means "shaking off" in Arabic and has been used to refer to two periods of violent Palestinian protest against Israel.

Members of the Jewish community have described it as a hateful call for violence.

In the interview with ABC Radio Sydney, Ms Tame said she understood the phrase "to be a call for widespread resistance" against the actions of Israel.