Labor’s shameful hypocrisy hits a new low

Australia’s Labor government should hang its head in shame.

For all its moves since 2022 – undoing the recognition of west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, deeming all territories over the green line “occupied”, voting for anti-Israel resolution after anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations, talking of rewarding Palestinian terror with statehood – denying a visa to a speaker coming out to raise funds for a humanitarian organisation is a new low.

The decision to cancel tech entrepreneur Hillel Fuld’s visa smacks of partisan politics by a party looking to appeal to certain constituents.

It appears questioning anti-Israel narratives and calling out extremist Islam – which is a threat to Muslims too – is now grounds to be kept out of Australia. But someone like Francesca Albanese, who uses antisemitic tropes and justifies violence against Israel citizens? Come right in.

The hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

And citing in its decision Fuld’s social media posts debunking a supposed massacre of 115 Gazans in March 2024 – an incident in which Israel says it shot only in the air, that casualties were in the dozens and were caused by people being trampled or run over as crowds swarmed aid trucks – shows that this Labor government has definitively chosen to believe the propaganda of a genocidal, antisemitic, terrorist death cult over that of its supposed ally.

By the time this is printed it will be too late for Fuld to make it here for his first event even if this shameful decision was overturned.

But the government has a choice. It can continue to show that it has become outwardly and unashamedly hostile to Israel – and in doing continue to alienate Australia’s mainstream Jewish community, who feel like we are being kicked while still feeling the wounds of October 7.

Or, since Labor insists it is still a friend of Israel, it can literally put its money where its mouth is. Make a taxpayer-funded donation to Magen David Adom, who Fuld was coming to promote.

The government has wasted enough of our dollars on the corrupt and Hamas-ridden UNRWA. Donate to a real humanitarian organisation, where Jews, Christians and Muslims work together to save lives.

We know The AJN is read by some in Canberra. The ball is in your court.