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December 5, 2024
The opposition has warned Australia’s relationship with Israel is at its “lowest ebb in decades” after a controversial former Israeli minister was refused entry to Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced last week that he had not granted an entry visa to Ayelet Shaked over concerns she would threaten social cohesion.
The decision sparked reports the Australian ambassador to Israel had been summoned to be reprimanded by the Israeli government over the move.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said that by having “abandoned Israel”, Australia had “walked away from our closest and most important ally in the US”.
The Australian reported on Thursday that Mr Paterson said protests outside Sydney’s Great Synagogue on Wednesday during a service were a “disgrace”.
He went on to tell Sky News it should be of “no surprise when you have a weak prime minister like Anthony Albanese”.
He accused Mr Albanese of adopting “a position of moral equivalence when it comes to these issues who can’t condemn anti-Semitism unequivocally”.
It comes after Australia broke from a two-decade stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict to vote for a United Nations resolution backing Palestinian statehood.
Ms Shaked, a right-wing politician, served as minister for justice in Israel from 2015 until 2019 and was involved in the drafting of the controversial Basic Law.
