Ministers from across political spectrum slam Australia ban on MK Rothman

Canberra said the right-wing lawmaker spreads hateful and divisive messages by calling for the destruction of Hamas.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Ministers from across the political spectrum slammed Monday the Australian announcement that it would not allow prominent Israeli MK Simcha Rothman to enter the country, just before he was scheduled to leave Israel.

The head of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee first received backing from his Religious Zionism party leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“In the face of all the antisemites in the world, the people of Israel stand behind you and support you,” he posted on X. “Continue to proudly raise the voice of Israel. We will not stop until complete victory!”

In a hint to Canberra’s recent declaration that it would soon recognize a Palestinian state, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision was “a direct extension of his disgraceful choice to honor the rapists and murderers of Hamas.”

“It reflects a broken moral compass, discrimination and a grave assault on free speech,” he added.

Rothman was scheduled to speak in three Jewish communities as a sign of solidarity with the country’s beleaguered Jews, who have faced unprecedented antisemitism ever since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 people sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Chikli called the visa retraction an attempt at “appeasement of Islamic terror” to “advance Australia,” which he said would not work.

The right-wing MK also received support from the opposite side of the political aisle.

“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,” wrote Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz on X.

“If only Australia fought the ravaging antisemitism targeting its Jewish communities with the same fervor it banned representatives from the one and only democracy in the Middle East,” he added.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government had made the decision because Rothman was coming to the country “to spread a message of hate and division,” adding, “Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe.”

However, the Australian Jewish Association stated Monday that among its written reasons for the ban, the government had cited as hateful speech Rothman’s calls for “the elimination of Hamas,” which “members of the Australian community” felt was “inflammatory and concerning.”

This was despite the fact that Canberra has officially designated Hamas a terrorist organization since 2001.

Other disquieting statements for the left-leaning coalition were Rothman’s opinion that “a Palestinian state is the first step toward Israel’s destruction” and that “the world … must stand on the right side of history, strengthen the good in the war against evil.”

Rothman himself reacted by calling the ban – which also bars him from the country for the next three years – an “antisemitic decision” that “gives support to terror.”

“Australian Jews are attacked by jihadists, and in Australian mosques there is incitement to murder Jews and destroy Israel,” he added. “Yet expressing positions adopted by the Knesset in Israel by a two-thirds majority is considered by the Australian government defiance and provocation.”

He said he would not be intimidated into silence.

“The State of Israel must teach the entire world how not to yield to terror.”