A number of high-profile officials have been refused visas by Israel and Australia’s governments, raising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The Australian Government cancelled the visa of Israeli MP Simcha Rothman earlier this week.
Israel responded by cancelling the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the move “unjustified”, while the Opposition blamed the Government for “deteriorating” relations with Israel.
Rothman's visit
Australia’s Home Affairs Department cancelled the visa of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman earlier this week.
Denying a visa means you can’t legally enter or stay in a country.
Rothman is a member of the far-right, ultra-Orthodox Religious Zionism party. It advocates for expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the UN considers illegal.
Rothman told UK outlet Channel 4 in May that children in Gaza “are not dying of hunger”. UN agencies say at least 235 Palestinians have died of starvation, including 106 children, since October 2023.
The Australian Jewish Association, which defines itself as “centre-right,” said it had arranged for Rothman to visit synagogues and Jewish schools.
In a statement to TDA, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: “Our Government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division.”
Australia also sanctioned Religious Zionism’s leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in June.
Israel's response
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Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he has cancelled the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Sa’ar cited Rothman’s visa being revoked and Australia’s move to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month as his reasons.
In a post to X on Tuesday night, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called Australian PM Anthony Albanese “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
Australia
Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised Israel’s decision.
“This is an unjustified reaction, following Australia’s decision to recognise Palestine,” Wong said.
“The Netanyahu Government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution.”
The PA Foreign Ministry called Israel’s move “arbitrary” and said it doesn’t officially recognise the decision to revoke the visas.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley urged Burke to explain the Government’s decision to revoke Rothman’s visa as “an elected member of a liberal democracy”.
“This is an elected member of the Israeli Parliament, and it’s a very unusual thing to refuse a visa,” she told reporters today.
“I really regret the way that the relationship between the Albanese Government and the Government of Israel is deteriorating.”
The Coalition has vowed to overturn the Government’s recognition of Palestine if it wins the next election, due by 2028.
