Visa denial boosts MDA fundraiser attendance

More than 700 Melbourne community members attended a Magen David Adom fundraising event at Caulfield Shule on Thursday night, with attendance boosted by controversy over the Australian government’s decision to deny a visa to scheduled speaker Hillel Fuld.

The Israeli tech entrepreneur and commentator was forced to address the crowd via video link from Israel after his visa application was rejected.

Emma Lipson, MDA Australia office manager in Melbourne, said the visa controversy significantly increased attendance.

“I think it absolutely increased people’s interest. We got over 200 more people booking in from when his visa was cancelled till our event,” Lipson said.

“To be honest, with the setup and the screens and everything, it kind of felt like he was in the room with us. He’s into the high tech space. The high tech worked very well. So I actually think it really helped us.”

The event also featured a video message from Gilad Erdan, formerly Israel’s ambassador to both the United Nations and the United States and now Magen David Adom World President, who told the crowd he looked forward to one day coming to Australia to greet them in person, “if I get a visa!”

The comment drew considerable laughter from the audience.

In his address, Fuld described Israel as a global technology powerhouse, noting that virtually every major tech company has established operations there.

He cited venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz founder Marc Andreessen, who told him that when the Silicon Valley-based firm opens its second office, “it will be in Tel Aviv, not in Chicago, not in New York, not in London.”

Fuld said Israeli entrepreneurs don’t think “out of the box” but have “no box” at all, citing innovations including a mobile robotic printer that walks on paper rather than requiring paper to be fed into it.

Beyond commercial success, Fuld emphasised Israel’s role in “impact technology”, highlighting Israeli innovations in cancer treatment, water infrastructure for African villages, and grief support technology.

“When you look at technology companies that are doing well by doing good, that is when you can change the world. And guess who’s leading the way on impact technology? Of course, it’s Israel,” he said.

Addressing the current conflict, Fuld described the war as “one big miracle”, pointing to the effectiveness of Israel’s multi-layered defence systems.

He emphasised the theme of Jewish unity, particularly referencing the October 7 victims.

Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also attended the meeting and spoke passionately.

Lipson said the community response exceeded expectations.

“We were exceptionally proud and pleased with how the evening went. The community came out to support us. We had over 700 people in attendance, and we were just really grateful that people came and showed support.”

The fundraising goal is to build a new MDA station in Lehavim in southern Israel. Attendees heard directly from Yarin Shitrit, an Israeli paramedic, about where donations go and their impact.

“The long-term benefits are that people really understood how important it is for us to build this new station in Lehavim, and they got a first-hand account about exactly where their donations go and how much of an impact it makes to the paramedics, to the citizens of Israel, and to Israel as a whole,” Lipson said.

Despite the challenging week, she emphasised the community’s resilience.

“As we said from the beginning, the show must go on and we were just really happy that we were able to still come together as a community and support Magen David Adom.”

Lipson concluded, “I want to really say thank you to the community for their support, whether it was them coming to the event or donating to our cause. We really appreciate everybody’s support, especially over the past week.”