A senior member of the Israeli government, due to arrive in Australia in a show of moral support for the Jewish community, has had his visa revoked at the last moment.
Simcha Rothman is the chair of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and a senior government member.
Australian Jewish Association (AJA) CEO Robert Gregory said his organisation had arranged for Rothman to visit and lend his support to Jews impacted by what he termed “a wave of anti-Semitism.”
“AJA had arranged for him to meet with victims, visit targeted Jewish institutions, and address numerous Jewish schools and synagogues,” Gregory said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“I have just returned from Israel and can attest that there is growing alarm there about the situation for Jews in Australia under the Albanese government.”
Gregory said Rothman’s visit was not connected to current events in the Middle East.
Rothman had already filed paperwork and received his visa, and only found out it had been cancelled the same day he was due to fly out from Tel Aviv.
Gregory said the last-minute cancellation was “spiteful and intended to maximise harm to the Australian Jewish community.”
“This government has a track record of cancelling the visas of Jewish and Israeli visitors, including Ayelet Shaked and Hillel Fuld,” he said.
In June, the Australian Labor government cancelled the visa of Israeli blogger Hillel Fuld, prompting a plea from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for the decision to be reversed.
Former right-leaning Israeli Minister Ayelet Shaked was also denied entry to Australia last year on “character grounds.”
Rothman, Shaked, and Fuld are all openly pro-Israel.
“The message from the Albanese government to Jews is clear and we urge all Jews to seriously consider whether it is safe for them to visit Australia under this government,” Gregory said.
“Israel is fully justified in taking strong measures in response to this and we have briefed contacts in the Trump Administration who are also concerned about events in Australia.”
The Epoch Times contacted the federal Department of Home Affairs for comment. Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Andrew Leigh did discuss the decision pointing to concerns about “social cohesion.”
“Social cohesion is important and the home affairs minister [Tony Burke] has said he makes no apology for taking a hard line on intolerance and sowing division,” he told ABC.
“We want to do is make sure those coming to Australia are doing so to contribute to the public conversation in a positive way and we don’t want to see that conversation become nasty and more divisive than it is already.”
A 2024 report by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry listed a year-on-year increase of 316 percent (pdf) of anti-Semitic incidents, while a Tel Aviv University report noted 1,713 reported incidents in Australia in 2024, up from 1,200 in 2023 (pdf).
