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HomeRead, Watch, ListenAustralia
AnalysisAustraliaIsrael

Diplomatic flashpoint pits Australia against Israel

Attempts to bring a far-right Israeli politician to Australia have sparked a major diplomatic incident.
Michael Visontay
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A man and a woman with visa stamps reading cancelled, rejected, Israel and Australia

MK Simcha Rothman (L) has been denied a visit to Australia and Israel has responded by cancelling the visa of Australia’s Representative, Occupied Palestinian Territories Bethany Randell (Photos Creative Commons, Graphic TJI)

Published: 19 August 2025

Last updated: 20 August 2025

The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) advocacy group has detonated a full-scale diplomatic feud between Israel and Australia over its thwarted plan to bring a divisive member of the Knesset to Australia for a speaking tour.

The rapid escalation of tension follows the Albanese government’s decision last week to recognise a Palestinian state, which prompted an angry response from the Israeli government.

The Australian government yesterday banned the inflammatory MK Simcha Rothman from visiting Australia. The Israeli government responded by revoking the visa of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority and threatening to withhold other Australian visas to Israel.

Home affairs minister Tony Burke said Rothman’s visa application had been rejected because of his divisive politics, and he would not be able to reapply for one to three years. Rothman was initially granted a visa but it was revoked by the minister shortly before he was due to leave for Australia.

“Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division,” Burke said. “If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded immediately with a diplomatic counterstrike. “I have decided to revoke the visa of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority,” he said in a statement overnight. “I also instructed the Israeli embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any Australian visa application for entry to Israel.

“This follows Australia’s decisions to recognise a ‘Palestinian state’ and against the backdrop of Australia’s unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures, including former minister Ayelet Shaked, and the Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, MK Simcha Rothman.”

Israel’s anger with the Albanese government was met with another strong rebuke by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who slammed Saar’s decision as another step in “isolating Israel” from other countries.

Rothman’s statements

Rothman has attracted widespread condemnation in recent months over his denial of starvation in Gaza, his defence of the mass displacement of Palestinians, and his criticism of Israeli media’s support for hostage families.

In May, when a British journalist put to Rothman that Palestinians were dying in Gaza because Israel had withheld aid, the MK flat out denied the suggestion. “They are not dying,” he replied categorically. In the same interview he labelled Palestinian children as “our enemies” and defended the mass displacement of Palestinians, saying if they did not leave Gaza, they were protecting a terrorist organisation.

Earlier this month Rothman angered hostages’ families when he said Israeli media outlets had made a “grave mistake” by airing terror groups’ videos of suffering Israeli hostages.

AJA cries antisemitism

The refusal of a visa to Rothman was perhaps predictable given the Australian government’s denial of a visa to former Israeli Minister of Interior and Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked last year.

But the AJA, a far-right group that despite its name is not a representative community body, had arranged for Rothman to speak in Sydney and Melbourne next weekend to “share words of support for the Jewish community as well as providing an update from Israel,” according to a release.

The AJA went for the jugular in its response to the visa denial. “This is a viciously antisemitic move from a government that is obsessed with targeting the Jewish community and Israel. All the paperwork was filled out correctly and on time and the visa was approved,” its CEO Robert Gregory wrote on X.

“The timing of the cancellation at the last minute was spiteful and intended to cause maximum harm to the Australian Jewish community. Mr Rothman received his cancellation on the day he was to head to the airport for his flight.”

Jewish community response

While the ban is a major embarrassment to the AJA, it is hard to see how the decision has caused harm to the Jewish community. Nevertheless, the fallout has highlighted the depths of ill-feeling towards the Albanese government by pro-Israeli groups in Australia.

The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) is openly critical of Rothman’s views but also opposes the decision to ban him. “His comments on Gaza, the displacement of Palestinians, and on Israeli media’s support for hostage families are out of step with mainstream Israeli opinion and with the values of most Australian Jews,” ZFA President Jeremy Leibler told The Jewish Independent before the ban was announced.

“At a time of rising antisemitism and polarisation, we need voices that defend Israel with facts and empathy, not rhetoric that fuels division.”

But he criticised the ban on an elected member of the Israeli parliament. “It is one thing to disagree strongly with an elected representative of a democracy and ally, it is quite another to deny them entry on that basis. Australia ought not to set such a precedent.”

The Australia Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) described the ban as "deeply troubling". CEO Colin Rubinstein said: "While some of [Rothman's] views undoubtedly may be controversial and contrary to those held by AIJAC, refusing him a visa sets a disturbing precedent for Australia’s treatment of a fellow democracy and long-standing friend."

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) not responded to requests for comment.

Israeli reaction

The ban on Rothman has sparked mixed reactions across the Israeli opposition ranks. Leading Opposition figure Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity Party, labelled it hypocritical. 

“MK Rothman and I have stark political and ideological differences — yet Australia’s decision to bar him from entry is not only deeply misguided, but blatantly hypocritical,” Gantz said. “If only Australia fought the ravaging antisemitism targeting its Jewish communities with the same fervour it banned representatives from the one and only democracy in the Middle East.”

But a member of the centrist opposition party Yesh Atid endorsed the ban and said Rothman was loathed by Israelis. “The people of Israel cannot stand Rothman, and… genuinely do not care whether Rothman — who is funded up to his neck with foreign money — enters Australia or not,” Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak wrote on X.

“It is also important to clarify to the world that politicians like Rothman absolutely do not represent Jewish and democratic Israel.”

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About the author

Michael Visontay

Michael Visontay

Michael Visontay is Commissioning Editor of TJI and was Editor-in-Chief from 2017-22. Michael is a former Assistant Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and columnist with The Australian Jewish News. He has written six books, including Who Gave You Permission? with Manny Waks, and Welcome to Wanderland: Western Sydney Wanderers and the Pride of the West. His most recent book is Noble Fragments: the Maverick who broke up the world's greatest book (Scribe, 2024).

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