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Israel Retaliates Against Australia for Banning Knesset Member

(Jerusalem Post) Australia decided on Monday to deny entry into the country to MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Rothman was to go on a planned solidarity tour in support of the Australian Jewish community amid the rise in antisemitic attacks there. Australia had previously denied a visa to former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked in November. In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced on Monday his decision to revoke the residence permits of Australia's representatives to the Palestinian Authority. Sa'ar also instructed Israel's embassy in Canberra to carefully review any official Australian visa requests for entry into Israel. "At a time when antisemitism is spreading in Australia, including acts of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions, the Australian government chooses to fuel it instead with false accusations, claiming that visits by Israeli figures would disrupt public order and harm Australia's Muslim population," Sa'ar stated. Former Israeli minister of defense and deputy prime minister Benny Gantz said, "Australia's decision to bar him [Rothman] from entry is not only deeply misguided, but blatantly hypocritical. If only Australia fought the ravaging antisemitism targeting its Jewish communities with the same fervor it banned representatives from the one & only democracy in the Middle East."
2025-08-19 00:00:00
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