Australia Bans Israel’s Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked

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 dialog” on Israel-Australian relations, said Shaked. “These are dark days for Australian democracy. This government chose to be on the wrong side of history.”

Shaked applied for a visa to attend an event organized by the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, or AIJAC, the main pro-Israel group in Australia.

In September, Australia’s parliament introduced new hate-speech legislation following the targeting of the Jewish and pro-Israel community in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Shaked was barred to “offset” that move, an unnamed source familiar with the decision told Channel 12.

In November 2023, Shaked said during a television interview that “with God’s help and the Israel Defense Forces, [the southern Gaza city of] Khan Younis will become a soccer field.” She also called for the international community to let in refugees from Gaza.

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.

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