Australia’s Interior Minister Tony Burke on Monday canceled the visa of MK Simcha Rothman, one day before he was scheduled to attend an event for the Jewish community in the country.
Burke said, "If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here."
"Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe."
Rothman’s visa had been approved about two weeks ago, but it has now been revoked, and he is banned from entering Australia for the next three years.
Among other things, Rothman is claimed to have spread hate speech by saying that Israel "must destroy Hamas," and that "a Palestinian state is the first step towards Israel's destruction." Also on the list of "hate speech" is a statement that Israel "must apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."
One of the more "extreme" statements listed is a quote from Rothman: "We will continue to strike at the enemy and fight the terror that surrounds us relentlessly in order to protect and defend the security of the citizens of the State of Israel. The world... must stand on the right side of history, strengthen the good in the war against evil."
Rothman responded to the cancellation, saying, "I was invited by the community in Australia due to antisemitic attacks on synagogues and a strong sense among the community of alienation and hostility. The Australian government’s decision to deny me the opportunity to come and speak to my people, for expressing simple and clear positions, is blatant and gross antisemitism that gives support to terror. Australian Jews are attacked by jihadists, and in Australian mosques there is incitement to murder Jews and destroy Israel. Yet expressing positions adopted by the Knesset in Israel by a two-thirds majority is considered, by the Australian government, defiance and provocation."
"This antisemitic decision is not directed at me personally. It is directed against the Jewish community in Australia, against the State of Israel, and against the Jewish people. The State of Israel learned, on October 7, the heavy price of surrendering to terror — the Australian government has not yet learned this lesson, and the price to be paid for that will be heavy. The State of Israel must teach the entire world how to not yield to terror. I will not be intimidated and will continue to express the proud voice of the Jewish people wherever I am.”
Earlier this year, Australia’s federal government revoked the visa of Israeli-American tech entrepreneur and public speaker Hillel Fuld, citing concerns over social media posts it claimed may pose a threat to public order.
Fuld, whose brother Ari was murdered in a 2018 Palestinian terror attack near the Gush Etzion junction, was scheduled to address events in Sydney and Melbourne organized by Magen David Adom Australia, but was informed of the cancellation while abroad. His visit was part of a global tour raising funds for emergency medical infrastructure in Israel.
In November 2024, former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was refused entry to Australia. The reason given for the refusal was Shaked's opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state. In a response to her request for a visa, Shaked was informed that her entry may hurt the feelings of a different group in the country.
Shaked had been scheduled to attend an AIJAC conference between Israel and Australia.
"The decision by Australia's government to prevent my entry into its territory for the purpose of participating in a strategic dialogue between the countries is clear testimony to its hypocrisy and its hostile attitude towards Israel. [It is] a government which claims to be democratic but acts to silence voices which oppose its extremist pro-Palestinian agenda," she said at the time.