Grace Tame has apologised after appearing to dismiss allegations of sexual violence during Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel as “propaganda” and “debunked”, while insisting her remarks were misinterpreted.
The former Australian of the Year said she stood with survivors of sexual violence “everywhere” and did not deny allegations made by individual Israeli women, including claims of gang rape.
In an Instagram video posted on Thursday, Ms Tame said comments made during a March interview with ABC Radio Sydney had been understood to mean she disbelieved Israeli survivors.
“This is not the case,” she said. “I always have, and always will stand with survivors of sexual violence.”
She added: “I believe Israeli survivors, I believe Jewish survivors, as I believe all survivors.”
Ms Tame said she regretted not clarifying her position earlier and apologised for any harm caused by what she described as the “mischaracterisation” of her remarks.
During the interview with presenter Hamish Macdonald, she was asked whether she had condemned reports that Israeli women had been raped and sexually assaulted during the October 7, 2023 attacks.
“I’m not going to sink to the level of entertaining any kind of propaganda,” she replied. “Those things have been debunked.”
When Mr Macdonald referred to United Nations findings that there were reasonable grounds to believe conflict-related sexual violence had occurred, Ms Tame said violence was being committed “on both sides” and that the conflict was not a fair fight.
She later said she was outraged by all violence and did not support any of it.
The Israeli Embassy in Canberra criticised her remarks at the time, accusing her of denying documented sexual violence and saying she had “lost her moral compass”. The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia also described the comments as deeply upsetting. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-17/grace-tame-comments-abc-radio-sydney-interview-on-october-7/106465388))
An ABC Ombudsman’s review subsequently found no breach of the broadcaster’s accuracy or harm and offence standards. It concluded that Mr Macdonald had immediately challenged Ms Tame’s assertion by referring to the UN findings and asking whether she considered them propaganda. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/about/ombudsman/significant-no-breach-findings/mornings-interview-with-grace-tame/106517856))
The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said in 2024 that there were reasonable grounds to believe rape and gang rape had occurred at several locations during the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.
Human Rights Watch has said it found evidence of sexual and gender-based violence, including forced nudity and the taking and publication of sexualised images. It also noted that the full extent of the violence might never be known because many victims may have been killed and forensic evidence was not systematically collected. ([hrw.org](https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/questions-and-answers-hamas-led-armed-groups-october-7-2023-assault-israel))
In her statement, Ms Tame referred to Human Rights Watch’s finding that it had been unable to verify claims that Israeli women were raped “en masse” on October 7. She stressed, however, that she accepted the allegations made by individual survivors.
“I do not hate Israelis. I do not hate Jewish people,” she said. “I abhor the crimes of the State of Israel.”
Ms Tame, who survived child sexual abuse by a teacher, has campaigned for legal reform and spoken publicly in support of survivors and human rights causes.
She has also said that she lost speaking engagements for the remainder of the year following the controversy, telling an Australian conference in March that the event was her final presentation of 2026.
