SYDNEY: Australia has canceled the visa of an Israeli influencer who campaigns against Islam, saying it will not accept visitors who come to spread hatred.
Sammy Yahood, who has commented on social media that Islam is a “disgusting ideology,” said Monday his visa was canceled three hours before his flight departed from Israel.
Yahood flew to Abu Dhabi anyway, but was blocked from getting his connecting flight.
“This is a story about tyranny, censorship and control,” he posted on X.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday that people who want to visit Australia should apply for the right visa and come for the right reasons.
“Spreading hatred is not a good reason to come,” he said.
Australia tightened its hate crime laws this month in response to a December 14 mass shooting on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people.
Yahood’s visa was reportedly canceled under the same legislation that has been used in the past to reject people’s visas on hatred grounds.
The conservative Australian Jewish Association, which had invited the influencer to speak, said it “strongly condemned” the visa decision by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government.
It criticized visa cancelations for other Jewish visitors, including far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman who was blocked last year.
“This latest cancelation reinforces deep concerns within the Jewish community that, despite the horror of the Bondi massacre and the government’s belated apology, the Albanese Government hasn’t changed and was never genuine,” the association’s chief executive Robert Gregory said in a statement.