Tony Burke Cancels Israeli Speaker’s Visa But Turns a Blind Eye to Radical Preachers

Within days of apologising to the Jewish community, an apology widely dismissed as empty words in the wake of the Bondi Hanukkah terrorist attack, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has once again denied a visa to an Israeli, mere hours before departure.

This time, it is Sammy Yahood, a British influencer now living in Israel. He was due in Australia to run self-defence workshops and launch his Peace Through Strength campaign, aimed at empowering Jewish communities and allies. Yahood’s program is designed to instil courage, resilience, and a sense of personal security, especially for young Jewish Australians who have grown up under the shadow of threats to their safety. He was also scheduled to speak at events organised by the Australian Jewish Association, a well-established community body devoted to fostering Jewish life and education.

Yet the Australian government cancelled his visa hours before his flight. The official reason: Yahood’s social media posts, in which he called for Islam to be banned and described it in hostile terms, constituted “spreading hatred.” Under the expanded character grounds introduced in the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act 2026, this was sufficient to refuse entry.

On paper, this may sound principled. In practice, it feels deeply selective. Just last week, Burke issued statements expressing solidarity with the Jewish community after Bondi. Yet these words rang hollow. Despite announcing the appointment of an antisemitism envoy and new hate-speech laws, Jewish Australians continue to feel under-protected. Empty words will never compensate for a government that repeatedly fails to act decisively when the safety of a community is at stake.

Meanwhile, Burke has repeatedly denied visas to Israeli and Jewish speakers deemed likely to “spread division or hate,” including Israeli politicians Simcha Rothman and Ayelet Shaked, and American-Israeli entrepreneur Hillel Fuld, scheduled to keynote a charity launch on Israeli innovation. Each of these........

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