Former Israeli justice minister denied Australia visa

Former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked has been denied a visa to Australia, where she was expected to address a conference organised by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

The Australian newspaper reported that Shaked’s visa application was refused because she might “incite discord,” noting that the act used to prevent her entry stipulates that applicants may be barred if it is believed that they may “vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community.”

AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein condemned the visa ban as “a disgraceful act of hostility towards a democratic ally.”

“It is extraordinary that a government that refuses to take any meaningful action against an Iranian ambassador who effectively calls for genocide would act so undiplomatically towards a friend,” he said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “The Australian Government’s decision to refuse a visa to Ayelet Shaked is both baffling and deeply offensive.”

“Ayelet is a former justice minister in the most diverse and centrist Israeli government in history, which included an Israeli Arab party and minister.

“This refusal is particularly perplexing given that this very same government granted her a visa less than two years ago,” he wrote.

“How is it conceivable that our government has granted a visa to a Palestinian man from Gaza who reportedly has had close family connections and personal interactions with terrorist organisations, yet refuses entry to a former government minister of a democratic nation and one of our Australia’s friends?”

The visa ruling cannot be appealed. It came after Shaked was given a visa to attend an Israeli women’s event in February 2023.

In a post on social media, Leibler addressed Shaked directly, “I am embarrassed of my Government. Rest assured, most Australians do not support this outrageous decision.”

Speaking with Channel 12 on Thursday, Shaked slammed what she called Australia’s “extreme anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian government, part of which is even antisemitic, which for political reasons and because I oppose a Palestinian state does not allow me to attend a strategic dialogue between Israel and Australia.”

“These are dark days for democracy,” she added.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said: “The Albanese government must explain why a former minister in a friendly government and someone they granted a visa to only two years ago is now such a threat they must be banned from Australia.”

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