Tame regrets harm, maintains October 7 rape claims unproven

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has apologised for harm caused by her dismissal of sexual violence claims made by Israeli victims of the October 7 attacks, while continuing to dispute that the violence occurred on a mass scale.

In a video posted to Instagram on Thursday, Tame said she had long wanted to clarify remarks she made on ABC Radio in March, which she said had been misinterpreted as disbelief of Israeli survivors. “I stand for survivors of sexual violence everywhere no matter who they are,” she said. “I always have and always will stand with survivors of sexual violence.”

Tame said she did not deny individual accusations of rape made by Israeli women, including accounts of gang rape, and did not hate Israelis or Jewish people, but maintained there was insufficient evidence that Israeli women were raped en masse, citing Human Rights Watch.

“I abhor the crimes of the State of Israel. I believe Israeli survivors. I believe Jewish survivors as I believe all survivors,” she said. “While the intention of my remarks was not to imply otherwise, I acknowledge and sincerely apologise for any harm their mischaracterisation has caused.”

National Council of Jewish Women Australia president Lynda Ben-Menashe, who condemned the original comments at the time, said the statement fell short.