Just days before his scheduled visit to Australia, Israeli MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, was abruptly denied entry by Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
What was the justification? Rothman allegedly “spreads division and hate.”
This might have passed as a domestic political stance had it not been paired with a contrasting pattern: at the same time that Rothman was denied a visa, known extremist preachers who glorify terrorism were welcomed freely into Australia.
One such figure is British Islamist Sami Hamdi, who, shortly after the October 7 Hamas massacre, told a cheering crowd: “When everyone thought it was over, came the roar! How many of you felt it in your hearts? How many felt euphoria? Allahu akbar!”
Another is Mohammad Ghuloom, a Hezbollah supporter, who toured schools and spoke of martyrdom as a cultural aspiration. Both men were granted visas without interference.
It begs the question: How does Australia, a democracy with firm commitments to counter-extremism and hate speech, justify embracing those who openly support terror while banning an elected Israeli lawmaker?
This is not about Rothman’s policies. It is about the signal being sent when a Western democracy embraces radicalism under the guise of free speech but excludes elected officials from democratic allies. It reflects a disturbing collapse of moral consistency.
While antisemitism is routinely condemned in speeches, Australia’s policies are starting to echo a deeper confusion: one where the symbols of progressivism become shields for appeasement and where antisemitic rhetoric is tolerated – so long as it’s wrapped in the right political vocabulary.
In a country where there are no rockets overhead, no tunnels under playgrounds, and no bomb shelters in every home, it’s easy to play the moral judge. Yet those of us living in Israel know the difference between criticism and dehumanization. All too often, what we see now is not criticism but complicity.
When terror sympathizers are given microphones, and Jews who speak with conviction are denied entry, it’s not just a diplomatic misstep. It’s a sign of a society that no longer knows who the villains are.
History teaches us: when the gatekeepers wink, those in masks walk in freely.
Australia should be careful not to confuse tolerance with submission. Because when democracies abandon their allies to appease their enemies, it is only a matter of time before they find themselves on the receiving end of the same hatred they failed to confront.
The writer is president of WIZO, Women’s International Zionist Organization.