The diplomatic spat between Israel and Australia marks the lowest point in this country’s relationship with the Jewish state since it was founded in 1948. 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Anthony Albanese a ‘weak leader’ who ‘abandoned’ Australia’s Jews, while Immigration Minister Tony Burke hit back, claiming ‘strength was not measured by how many people you can blow up’.

But what triggered it? 

Australia’s announcement last week that it would recognise the state of Palestine set Albanese on a collision course with Netanyahu. 

Yet, Australia is no outlier. The UK, France and Canada will also move to recognise Palestine at the UN next month.

The escalation in language between both sides was prompted when Burke personally revoked the visas of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked and controversial Israeli advocate Hillel Fuld.

In turn, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar – who recently accused Albanese of ‘loving Hamas’ – said the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked.

So what did Rothman, Shaked and Fuld say to gain membership to an exclusive – and unwelcome – club, which already includes the likes of domestic abuser Chris Brown, sex pest Bonnie Blue and rapper-turned-Hitler-fan Kanye West? 

The escalation in language between both sides was prompted when Burke personally revoked the visas of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked (pictured) and controversial Israeli advocate Hillel Fuld

Simcha Rothman

Rothman, 45, is a democratically-elected member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, for the far-right National Religious Party – Religious Zionism.

He was due to embark on a ‘solidarity tour’ of Australia this week, organised by the Australian Jewish Association, but had his visa pulled at the last minute. 

The Department of Home Affairs said it ‘does not comment on individual cases’ but a leaked document, published by Sky News, revealed that officials alleged Rothman had referred to Palestinian children as ‘enemies’ in an interview with Channel 4.

‘When the interviewer asked why doesn’t Israel let the children leave Gaza, the visa holder replied “They are our enemies”,’ the government document states.

Outspoken Sky News host Sharri Markson claimed that this was a ‘wildly inaccurate description’ of what he said.

The transcript reveals Lindsey Hilsum, the Channel 4 reporter, asked why Israel did not let the people of Gaza over the border into Israel if they wanted them to leave. 

Simcha Rothman, 45, is a democratically-elected member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, for the far-right National Religious Party – Religious Zionism. He was due to embark on a ‘solidarity tour’ of Australia this week, organised by the Australian Jewish Association, but had his visa pulled at the last minute

‘Because they are our enemies,’ Rothman responded. 

Hilsum asked: ‘The children are your enemies?’

To which Rothamn said: ‘They are our enemies and according to international treaties about refugees in the time of war, you don’t let them conquer your country with refugees.’

Ayelet Shaked

Shaked, 49, a right-wing Israeli politician who left parliament in 2022, was denied an Australian visa last year.

At the time, Burke declined to explain why it had been rejected and Shaked accused the Albanese administration of anti-Semitism.

In 2014, Shaked shared a passage on social media written by the late Israeli writer Uri Elitzur that refers to Palestinian children as ‘little snakes’ and described the entire Palestinian people as ‘the enemy’.

‘Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism,’ the text read.

‘They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. 

‘They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there. 

In 2014, Shaked (pictured) shared a passage on social media written by the late Israeli writer Uri Elitzur that refers to Palestinian children as ‘little snakes’ and described the entire Palestinian people as ‘the enemy’.

 ‘They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists.’

Immigration Minister Burke defended the decision to block both Rothman and Shaked’s visas on Wednesday morning.

‘One of them has described Palestinian children as the enemy, and the other has described Palestinian children as little snakes,’ he told ABC Radio National.

‘Now, if anyone wanted to come on a public speech tour, and they had those views publicly expressed about Israeli children, I would block the visa.

‘And I am going to not have a lower bar for the protection of views that are bigoted views against the Palestinian people.’

He added: ‘I can’t stop what reaches people over the internet, but I do have a personal responsibility as to whether or not Australia formally rolls out a welcome mat to people with extreme views and says, come and express them here.’

Hillel Fuld 

Fuld, a Jewish-American entrepreneur and activist, was blocked from coming to Australia for a speaking tour last month.  

The multi-millionaire received a letter from the Department of Home Affairs, advising him that he was guilty of denying ‘documented atrocities and (promoting) Islamophobia rhetoric, which has been received by members of the Australian community as inflammatory and concerning.’

In social media posts, Fuld had described Islam as a ‘global plague’ and claimed up to 15 per cent of Muslims were ‘radicalised’.   

He also compared Gazans to Nazi-era Germans and said they should be ‘treated as’ such.

‘Differentiating between Gazans and Hamas is at best inaccurate, at worst dishonest,’ he said.

‘The Gazans elected Hamas, and a vast majority of them support October 7.’

Hillel Fuld (pictured), a Jewish-American entrepreneur and activist, was blocked from coming to Australia for a speaking tour last month

He also said that some Palestinian children were terrorists. 

‘Tragically, it is not safe to assume that all children in Gaza are innocent,’ he said.

‘Children are taught from age zero that murdering a Jew is the highest accomplishment in life, and so often times, Arab terror (including the murderer of my brother), is carried out by children. 

‘The same goes for women and “journalists” in Gaza.’

Fuld’s brother, Ari Fuld, was stabbed to death at the age of 45 by a 17-year-old Palestinian at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank on September 16, 2018.

On Thursday, Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-CEO Alex Ryvchin called for calm from both the Australian and Israeli governments. 

‘The Australian Jewish community is profoundly disturbed and concerned by the rapidly deteriorating state of the relations between our government and the government of the state of Israel,’ he told the ABC.

‘We are calling on both governments to remember what’s at stake, to ensure calm heads prevail and to conduct their matters of state privately, diplomatically and with respect for the longstanding diplomatic relationship between the two countries.’