From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Ex-justice minister Ayelet Shaked barred from entering Australia amid fears of incitement
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Former justice minister Ayelet Shaked is barred from entering Australia, where she was slated to address a conference organized by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
Shaked was denied a visa because she might “incite discord,” The Australian reports — noting that the act used to prevent her entry stipulates that people 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.”
Speaking with the paper, Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council chief Colin Rubenstein condemns 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 says.
“The Australian Government’s decision to refuse a visa to Ayelet Shaked is both baffling and deeply offensive,” tweets Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia.
“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 writes.
“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 organizations, yet refuses entry to a former government minister of a democratic nation and one of our Australia’s friends?”
Speaking with Channel 12, Shaked slams what she describes as 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 states.
Shaked’s visa ban comes on the heels of an incident in Sydney in which a car was burned and dozens of others were defaced with anti-Israeli graffiti.
In an overnight tweet, the Israeli embassy declared that it was “appalled by the antisemitic attack” and that words were “no longer enough.”
“It’s time for action,” the embassy stated.
