SYDNEY: The Australian government canceled the visa of a far-right Israeli politician on Monday ahead of a speaking tour.
Simcha Rothman, whose party is part of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, had been scheduled to speak at events organized by the Australian Jewish Association.
But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia would not accept people coming to the country to “spread division.”
“If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here,” he said.
“Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe.”
As an automatic condition of the visa cancelation, Rothman is unable to travel to Australia for three years.
Rothman is a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, whose leader Bezalel Smotrich, is under sanctions by the Australian government. In an interview earlier this year with Britain’s Channel 4 News, Rothman denied Palestinian children in Gaza were dying of hunger due to Israel’s limitations of food and aid.
When asked by a reporter why Israel won’t let Palestinian children flee to Israel, he replied: “Because they are our enemies.”
Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory said the purpose of Rothman’s visit was to “show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community, which is facing a wave of antisemitism.”
“The visit was not in any way connected to current events in the Middle East,” he posted on social media.
Gregory said cancelation of Rothman’s visa was “a viciously antisemitic move,” accusing the Australian government of being “obsessed” with targeting the Jewish community and Israel.
Later on Monday, Israel’s foreign minister revoked the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority, saying the move followed Canberra’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
In a post on X, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said it also came after the Australian government canceled the visa of a far-right Israeli politician ahead of a speaking tour in the country.
“I decided to revoke the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority,” Saar wrote on X, adding that the Australian ambassador to Israel “was just notified on the matter.”
“I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel,” he said.
“This follows Australia’s decisions to recognize a ‘Palestinian state’ and against the backdrop of Australia’s unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures,” Saar added.
With Agencies
