Far-right influencer and DV offender uses fake Grace Tame website to lobby government against her

By Antoinette Lattouf and Soaliha Iqbal

Avi Yemini, a former IDF marksman turned far right influencer who this week interviewed ABC personality Charlie Pickering over criticism of Grace Tame's ABC podcast series, has previously mounted campaigns against the former Australian of the Year — including using a website domain that bears her name and redirects users to a petition seeking to strip her of her title.

Ette Media can reveal that the domain www.gracetame.com has been redirecting visitors to populist website Rebel News and a petition targeting Tame since at least February this year. In posts promoting the campaign, Yemini referred to it as “my petition” and argued Tame should be “stripped of her honour and charged for incitement”. The petition has attracted more than 39,000 signatures and Tame is considering her legal options.

Tame, who is currently hosting the four-part ABC podcast series Autistic AF, told Ette Media: “It’s distorted, and typical of the grimy, unethical, if not illegal, activities of bad-faith actors like Avi. I am a domestic violence survivor. Avi is a convicted domestic violence perpetrator who clearly still feels entitled to violate the property of others.”

Yemini is an Australian correspondent for Rebel News and in 2019, he was charged with assault after throwing a chopping board that struck his former wife in the head during a domestic violence incident. Yemini later pleaded guilty to charges including using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.

The website impersonation—according to legal experts—could be unlawful. 

Associate Professor Jason Bosland, Director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School, told Ette Media there are a few avenues for legal dispute that Tame could take, including lodging a claim through the The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) which, if successful, could result in the domain being reassigned to her. 

“That requires that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the complainant has rights,” he explained.

“Tame could argue that she has rights either with respect to the registrations that she has in Australia or that she has a common law proprietary interest in her name, Grace Tame, because of the reputation that surrounds it.

“She would also have to satisfy the requirement that Rebel News have no rights or legitimate interests in respect to the domain name and that it’s been registered by them and is being used in bad faith.”

Under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), any business or individual engaging in trade or commerce that creates a misleading or deceptive "overall impression"—such as imitating another brand's website or branding—is committing an offence. 

However, whether Rebel News’ use of Tame’s satisfies the requirement of misleading and deceptive conduct under the ACL would have to be determined in court. 

Borland said Tame could also pursue a defamation case since Yemini calls for her to be charged, implying she has committed a crime.

“[Charlie Pickering] made a direct choice to cosy up to a man found guilty of abusing his wife, while denouncing me as ignorant. Surely I needn’t point out the irony here.”

Yemini often courts controversy for Canadian based outlet Rebel News under the guise of journalism. In 2024, a Canadian federal court upheld a decision denying Rebel News access to journalism tax credits after finding much of its output did not meet the standards required for original news reporting.

Earlier this week, ABC presenter Charlie Pickering was interviewed by the right-wing provocateur at a protest outside the broadcaster when he was asked about Tame's ABC podcast series. The comedian described Tame as "problematic".

“As you would understand, and as a Jewish Australian, there is a complete misunderstanding of a lot of the words that are said and what the true meaning of them are,” he said.

“A lot of people are using words and phrases that have meaning well beyond what they think they do.”

The pair were discussing the backlash Tame faced from pro-Israel lobby groups and Murdoch media commentators after she led chants of "Globalise the Intifada" at a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

At the time NSW Premier Chris Minns restricted the protests but the laws used to police the Herzog rally were later ruled unconstitutional by NSW's highest court.

Tame told Ette Media that Pickering’s comments showed he clearly hadn't listened to the podcast about autism adding his “ego couldn’t resist chiming in.” 

“It is not political, it is a life affirming collaboration between world leading experts and women with lived experience of autism,” she said.

“Charlie is a seasoned media professional. He would know exactly who Avi Yemini is. He didn't have to engage with him … he made a direct choice to cosy up to a man found guilty of abusing his wife, while denouncing me as ignorant. Surely I needn’t point out the irony here.

In a March interview with ABC Sydney, Grace Tame described a New York Times article about alleged sexual violence during the 7 October attacks as "debunked" and "propaganda", drawing criticism from some Israel supporters.

The original article detailed allegations of sexual violence by Hamas fighters based on interviews with witnesses, relatives, emergency workers and officials. However, the New York Times later reported that one specific allegation involving two teenage girls at Kibbutz Be'eri was contradicted by video evidence released by the Israeli military.

In a subsequent article published 25 March 2024, the newspaper reported that residents of Kibbutz Be'eri, where 97 people had been killed, said the footage showed the girls had been killed but not sexually assaulted, which undermined an earlier account provided by an unnamed military paramedic.

This is not the first time Yemini has attacked presenters or journalists at the ABC 

In 2018, Yemini shared then ABC journalist Osman Faruqi's personal mobile phone number with his Facebook followers and wrote: "See this taxpayer-funded ABC employee? He smears the country that gave his peasant family refuge. Feel free to let Osman Faruqi know what you think."

Faruqi was inundated with racist calls, text messages and death threats after the post.

Tame is still considering whether to pursue legal action, noting Yemini may turn the move into a  “public spectacle” and try to “advance his nefarious agenda. 

“It’s a fine line to walk between holding perpetrators to account, and legitimising them by taking them on.”