‘A brutal political act’
"It's really shameful. The Australian government is confused between good and evil," says Ayelet Shaked.
In an exclusive interview with The AJN’s director Anna Pasternak in Israel, former justice minister Ayelet Shaked has accused the Australian government of being “confused between good and evil” after she was denied a visa to travel to Australia.
Shaked was invited to Australia by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) to speak at a series of events across Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, but her visa application was rejected on the grounds that she might “incite discord in the Australian community”. Shaked was last granted a visa to attend a women’s event in Australia in February 2023.
“It’s just a brutal political act,” Shaked told The AJN.
“The Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior informed the Albanese government that if they did not reverse their decision, they will consider re-examining the current visa waiver program we have with Australia.
“It’s undemocratic and it has never happened to me before from any other country.”
Shaked said Israelis are aware that the Australian government is “pretty hostile” towards Israel and that the decision to deny her a visa is more embarrassing for the Albanese government than it is for her.
“It’s really shameful. The Australian government is confused between good and evil,” she said.
“It is a political act committed against my country, so I’m not taking it personally. I think it mainly embarrasses them and it’s disgraceful for them.”
“Countries that are allies, like Israel and Australia, cannot do such things,” said Shaked. “Australia and Israel have a very warm relationship, and we consider Australia as a strong ally of Israel, and it doesn’t matter who the government is. This government will be [an] antisemitic anecdote in the history of our bilateral relationship.”
A spokesperson for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The Australian government’s decision to deny a visa to former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked is unacceptable. The decision is deeply offensive and troubling, and will have a negative impact on Israel–Australia relations.”
Shaked said she is disappointed not to be speaking to the community in Australia, while AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein condemned the visa refusal 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 said.
“This will no doubt damage relations with Israel, a country from which Australia has received so many benefits. We believe this is a cynical attempt to appear even-handed in the wake of some refusals of visas for Palestinians who have ties to, or evidence-based support for terrorism.”
President of the Zionist Federation of Australia Jeremy Leibler described the decision as “baffling and deeply offensive”. He highlighted Shaked’s role in “the most diverse and centrist Israeli government in history, which included an Israeli Arab party and minister”, and questioned the government’s inconsistency.
“This refusal is particularly perplexing given that this very same government granted her a visa less than two years ago,” he said. Leibler also criticised the granting of a visa to a Palestinian reportedly linked to terrorist organisations, while barring a minister from a democratic ally.
“Many Australians will rightly ask: what has changed within the government between then and now?” he added.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed the application had been rejected, while opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said, “The Albanese government must explain why a former minister in a friendly government and someone they granted a visa to only two years ago is now such a threat they must be banned from Australia.”
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