Published: 10 June 2025
Last updated: 11 June 2025
American-Israeli technology entrepreneur and Israel advocate Hillel Fuld has been denied a visa to Australia on the grounds that he might incite hatred.
Fuld was scheduled to visit Australia in mid-June on a fundraising visit for Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross. He was due to speak to Magen David Adom fundraisers in Sydney and Melbourne, and to additional events at schools and synagogues.
The Department of Home Affairs wrote to him on Friday cancelling his visa on the grounds that he might use the platform to incite hatred “against particular segments of the community, namely the Islamic population”.
Fuld’s first claim to fame is as a technology business advisor, who provides marketing tips for growing a business or personal brands. But in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on October 7, Fuld shut down his multi-million-dollar tech consulting business to focus on pro-Israel advocacy.
Drawing on his expertise in online marketing and established tech networks, Fuld built a large following, with his social media content reaching millions.
A personal motivation
Fuld’s views were shaped by the murder of his brother Ari Fuld, a right-wing American-Israeli activist, who was stabbed by a 17-year-old Palestinian in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
“He (Ari Fuld) had no tolerance for those using terms like "West Bank" or advocating for a Palestinian state. He would correct them, reminding them it was Judea and Samaria, and that such a state never existed… on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis, I ask myself, “What would Ari do?” and then I act on it,” Fuld wrote on Ynet earlier this year.
Comments10
Kim Lester7 July at 12:31 am
Where should governments draw the line on visas?
It sounds about right to me in this case based on this articles information.
However my greatest racist concern in Australia today is the hate generated by some Australian based Imans. I am glad some are being prosecuted and I hope this continues. Australian Muslims and Jewish people deserve to be protected from home grown hate as well as from hateful foreigners applying for visas.
Anon13 June at 07:16 am
Rachel, Much of what he (and you) say sounds awful because it is awful. Gazans did not vote to attack on 7/10. There are no free and fair elections in Gaza. Even if every Gazan child had been brainwashed to hate (and many who have lost family in this war have good reasons to feel so) none deserve to die. If anyone believes otherwise, they have lost their humanity.
Rachel Sussman12 June at 10:28 am
One may or may not agree or like Fuld’s words but there are two quedtions to ponder:
First, is he ‘wrong’?
As it is, much of what he says awful as it sounds, is sadly mostly true…
The people of Gaza are not just ‘innocent’. Indeed, like the Germans they elected Hamas, allowed it to grow, and over 70% still agree with 7/10 and support Hamas… Truth is that many civilians have participated in one way or another in the 7/10 atrocities. It is not a lie, it is a sad truth…
Palestinian kids are innocent in that they are brainwashed from their cradle, nevertheless, sad as it is, they are often used to commit acts of terror such as throw stones, grenades, even blow themselves up… and believe me nothing can be more confronting or disturbing than to be a victim to such… so yes it sounds horrible, yet it is also true (some returning hostages painfuly recounted their encounter with some of Gaza’s children)….
Islamophobia is not ridiculous. Islamophobia is not fear of Islam and Muslims as such, it is a fear or resistance to extreme Jihadist Islam, and yes we should be Islamophobic in this regard, and if we are not, we will pay the price…
As for people who are calling for intifada, they are calling for the murder of the infidel, it is a call for ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the non- believers ( non Muslims)… anyone calling for the intentional killing and eradication of another should be imprisoned…
So I suggest that it is time to stop being righteous and to start calling a spade a spade…
As for his denials of atrocities, I wonder why the article writer accepts as truth reports that comes through CNN, BBC and the likes, who are based on reports from Hamas and Al Jaseera etc but deny reports from the IDF or Israel?
When one reports ‘massacred’ at aid distribution centres should one not realize that Hamas does its best to sabotage the distribution? Should one not question what has Israel got to gain from such massacre but damage its own initiative in which it invested 7million shekels and more?
Like Fuld’s I also hold such ‘atrocities’ with a big question mark..,
Likewise with other so called ‘documented atrocities’ that are denied by Israel… let us remembet that when atrocities of any kind are commited ( such as the issue of abuse in prison) soldiers are arrested and taken to court, or are dismissed ( like the officers who were responsible for the shooting of the kitchen aid workers)…
So I dont think there is anything menacing in Fuld’s denials…
As for the horrid claimed incident with the children, I believe it is still under investigation and while it is clearly a tragic incident, one must also remember that these poor children were in a war zone, in an area that was called to be evacuated, and left alone…. It does not make the tragedy any better, but it implied that one should not be quick to point the finger and blame the IDF and Israel
of ‘atrocoty’….
The one statement of Fuld’s I disagree with is the denial of the existence of Jewish terror, sadly, this too exists…
But second, one must also ask – whether one agrees with Fuld’s views or not, he never calls for ‘intifada’ against Muslims or Palestinians, or God forbid for their murder, or for commiting any atrocity against them, nor does he call for hate, he simply expresses his view and yet he was refused visa not for ‘hate speech’ but for political view… this is not excusable and he certainly does not pose danger to the safety of any Australian as such…
Allowing this seems to me that the visa refusal is purely a political Labor disgraceful stunt…
Guy12 June at 07:18 am
I don’t support Fuld’s views on Gaza, but nor do I think the government should have these powers. More broadly, I think Australia should have proper free speech protections like the US does. Yes, it also means that anti-semites could air their views freely, but they are doing so anyway under the guise of anti-Zionism. Laws against Nazi symbols only make it more socially acceptable to be an anti-semite, provided you are not an anti-semite of the Neo-Nazi variety. Better keep the government out of it entirely. This does not mean, of course, that “activists” or “students” should be able to disrupt talks, or other events, threaten people who voice views they disagree with, etc. Those things are not speech, and should not be protected.
Anon11 June at 06:45 am
Unfortunately, the excerpts above are far from the worst by Mr Fuld. Those leaping to his defence should ask how they would feel if an Australian pro Palestinian group were to invite an overseas speaker who refers to Israelis as an ‘invented people’, and who denies their right of self determination and Israel’s existence and legitimacy. If you take the time you will find many false and gratuitous comments by Mr Fuld denigrating and insulting Palestinians in these terms. Sadly, these are common tropes amongst some in the Australian Jewish community. Palestinians do exist. They are a people. They are not going anywhere. They are not Jordanian or Egyptian. For all their faults, they have rights. It is ignorant, racist, disrespectful, and hurtful to suggest otherwise. It undermines what is left of good relations between Muslim and Jewish communities. The root cause of the conflict is the inability of extremists on both sides to respect the legitimacy and humanity of the other. People like Mr Fuld are part of the problem.
Fruma11 June at 02:25 am
Leslie, there’s a tweet of Hillel’s which says “To anyone complaining about Gaza and the “innocent” people there, let’s not play games.”
Is that not clear enough for you?
In another Facebook post he said, “This society is so rotten to the core, there is only one solution for them…you know those 2000 pound bombs Israel’s got?”
Have a browse through his social media and you will find PLENTY of posts implying that NO one is innocent, including the children. Does a 2000 pound bomb distinguish between children?
Whether you like it or not, he’s a genocide advocate and yet people defend him because he’s a good representative for Israel. Do you mean for the Ben Gvir supporters, kahanists and the settlers?
Messianic Jewish racism has infiltrated Jewish communities and you can’t even see it. Start by opening up the Torah which inspires these views, and read about Amalek and the instructions for conquering Canaan. If you want to bring those ethos into modern and democratic Jewish communities like Melbourne, be my guest.
I certainly don’t want him representing me!
I was one of the Jews who wrote to Home Affairs (I’m not quoted here though). I was also alarmed to hear that the school my children attend was planning to send them to hear him speak.
I’ll choose another israel advocate, thank you. Not a one who celebrates the death of innocent children.
Matthew Adam10 June at 10:38 pm
Thank you to the JI for reporting the comments made by Hillel Fuld. It’s the honest journalism lacking in other publications covering this topic.
Deborah Stone10 June at 03:03 pm
Thank you for these comments. I have made some clarifications in the text in response.
Simon Krite10 June at 07:51 am
Hillel Fuld isn’t a provocateur. He’s a bereaved brother whose sibling was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist, a man who’s channelled his grief into advocacy for truth and justice. He speaks hard truths about the ideology behind October 7, about the complicity of Hamas-supporting civilians in Gaza, and about the danger of turning a blind eye to growing radicalisation. You don’t have to agree with every word he says, but to suggest his presence poses a threat to social cohesion is intellectually dishonest and morally cowardly.
This isn’t about visa technicalities. It’s part of a broader trend in Australia where fringe activist groups are now determining who can speak and what views are acceptable. We are watching in real time as the definition of “hate speech” is being manipulated to silence pro-Israel voices, while actual incitement from the other side calls to “globalise the intifada,” “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” and justify terrorism is excused under the guise of “resistance.”
This decision by Tony Burke is nothing more than capitulation to his Islamist sympathising, loud constituents and a win for the HATERS.
Leslie Shroot10 June at 03:44 am
I am a little disappointed about this article especially the section “What has Fuld said?”
“Tragically, it is not safe to assume that all children in Gaza are innocent. ”
is not the same as saying
“No Palestinian child is innocent”
Can you please correct this. There core point here is most children are innocent but 17 year olds murdering and raping on October 7th were not innocent children!
Your titles under this section which are not quotes are misleading.
I am sure Hillel Fuld would be happy to be interviewed to clarify statements etc for this article!
You also stated “Jewish Australians opposed to Fuld’s positions campaigned for him to be denied entry into Australia”
You made this statement with no backing facts or clarification.
Which Jewish Australian’s, who in the community do they claim to represent and who do they actually represent? (Just to clarify as a Jewish Australian I did not campaign to have Fuld’s visa denied)