A far-right Israeli politician, who has described Palestinian children in Gaza as “enemies” and called for Israel’s total control of the West Bank, has been denied entry into Australia ahead of an upcoming “solidarity tour”.
Simcha Rothman, a member of the Knesset for the far-right party Religious Zionism, was scheduled to appear at two public events in Sydney and Melbourne in August and two private events billed as a “solidarity tour”.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed on Monday Rothman’s visa application had been rejected and he would not be able to apply for another one for three years. Guardian Australia first put questions to his office on Friday morning.
“Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division,” Burke said in a statement.
“If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here.
“Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe.”
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Rothman accused the Albanese government of “clear and blatant antisemitism” in a post written in Hebrew on X shortly after the decision was made public.
Rothman said the home affairs minister had informed him his “presence and “words will have a serious impact on peace and the rule of law in Australia”.
“This antisemitic decision is not directed at me. It is directed at the Jewish community in Australia, at the state of Israel and at the people of Israel,” he wrote.
“The state of Israel learned the hard price of surrendering to terrorism on October 7th – the Australian government has not yet learned that lesson and the price to be paid for it will be heavy.”
Rothman is a member of the Netanyahu government’s coalition and his party’s leader is the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who was sanctioned by the Albanese government in June alongside Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The events with Rothman, organised by the right-leaning Australian Jewish Association (AJA), are described as a “solidarity tour to show support for Australia’s Jewish community”.
“Australian Jews are experiencing unprecedented antisemitism. Many feel that the Australian government has abandoned the Jewish community,” the group’s event description reads.
“Simcha is an excellent speaker and will be sharing words of support for the Jewish community as well as providing an update from Israel.”
Burke has previously barred the entry of other personalities and politicians with a history of controversial or offensive statements, including the rapper Kanye West, the US law professor Khaled Beydoun and the former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked.
The progressive Jewish Council of Australia said it had been “deeply concerned” by Rothman’s planned visit, claiming it was “part of an effort to encourage support for the Israeli government”.
Bart Shteinman, a council spokesperson, said Rothman’s visit was a reminder of “how shallow and incomplete” Australia’s response to the Israeli government has been.
The AJA’s chief executive, Robert Gregory, dismissed the council’s criticism and said Rothman’s trip to Australia was “not connected to current events in the Middle East”.
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“In general, AJA does not take positions on every statement made by past speakers, but as a community organisation we believe in giving the Jewish community the opportunity to hear from Israeli and Australian decision-makers across the political spectrum,” Gregory said in a statement before Rothman’s visa was rejected.
Rothman did not respond to email requests for comment.
Rothman is an outspoken critic of a two-state solution and has supported Donald Trump’s proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza, citing security concerns for Israel.
In a May interview with the UK’s Channel 4, he claimed children within Gaza were “enemies” who should not be allowed to flee into Israel as “you don’t let them conquer your country with refugees”.
“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,” Rothman said.
Rothman was one of a handful of Knesset members who initiated a symbolic motion in July to “apply” Israel’s sovereignty to the occupied West Bank territory. The motion passed 71-13.
In a social media post shortly after, Rothman said applying Israel’s sovereignty to the occupied territory would make it clear to the world that the land belongs to the people of Israel “today, tomorrow and forever”.
Rothman is also the architect of a bill to formally change all references to the West Bank in legislation to the preferred historical Israeli name, Judea and Samaria.
The bill’s explanatory notes say the change will “rectify a historical injustice that was created by foreigners” and “conforms to the general trend of strengthening the Israeli linkage to the region and safeguarding the Jewish people’s historical rights”.
Rothman played a controversial role in Israel spearheading a movement to allow a Knesset majority to override almost any supreme court rulings, and to allow politicians to appoint most of the justices to the bench.
The Netanyahu government proposal sparked protests in 2023 within Israel in the months before the 7 October attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group, Hamas, leading to political instability.
