Government cancels Israeli speaker’s Australian visa

Israeli-American influencer Hillel Fuld has had his Australian visa cancelled by the Department of Home Affairs on grounds he may pose a risk to “the health, safety or good order” of Australians.

Fuld was scheduled to speak at Magen David Adom fundraising events in Sydney and Melbourne to support the organisation’s appeal to build a new station in Lehavim, southern Israel.

Emma Lipson, MDA Australia office manager in Melbourne, told The AJN that MDA Australia “totally rejected” the visa cancellation, noting Fuld “has spoken to large audiences across North America, Europe and Asia with no incident.”

The visa cancellation followed a social media campaign by pro-Palestinian activists who labelled Fuld “a well-known merchant of Zionist hate speech” and accused him of posting “racist, dehumanising rhetoric denying Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.”

The campaign called on supporters to contact Home Affairs and Minister Tony Burke to revoke Fuld’s visa under Section 116 of the Migration Act, which covers “risk to public order.”