The Australian government has declined to grant an entry visa to former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who had planned to travel there to attend a pro-Israel event, Shaked said on Thursday.
Shaked, a right-wing former politician who is ideologically to the left of several current cabinet ministers in Israel’s government, told Channel 12 News that the decision was due to “the anti-Israel and radically pro-Palestinian” policies of the current Australian government, which has been led by the left-wing Labor Party since 2022.
“The current Australian government is an anti-Israel, radical pro-Palestinian government, some of it even antisemitic. For political reasons, since I’m opposed to a Palestinian state, it won’t allow me to attend a strategic dialogue” on Israel-Australian relations, said Shaked. “These are dark days for Australian democracy. This government chose to be on the wrong side of history.”
She applied for a visa to attend an event organized by the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, or AIJAC, the main pro-Israel group in the country.
In September, Australia’s parliament introduced new hate-speech legislation following the targeting of the Jewish and pro-Israel community in the aftermath of the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Shaked was barred to “offset” that move, an unnamed source familiar with the decision told Channel 12.
Last November, Shaked said during a television interview that “with God’s help and the Israel Defense Forces, [the southern Gaza city of] Khan Yunis will become a soccer field.” She also called for the international community to let in refugees from the Gaza Strip.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in April that Canberra would consider recognition of a Palestinian state. Her government has walked back the decision by the previous conservative government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
