Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an extraordinary personal attack on his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, accusing him of betraying Israel and abandoning Australia’s Jewish community in an escalating diplomatic crisis between the two nations.
In an unprecedented statement posted on X on Tuesday, Netanyahu declared: “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.” The scathing rebuke marks a dramatic deterioration in relations between countries that have historically considered themselves close allies.
Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke hit back on Wednesday, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that “strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many people you can leave hungry.” He accused Netanyahu of “lashing out” following Australia’s announcement that it would join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
Visa Wars Escalate Tensions
The diplomatic row erupted after Australia cancelled the visa of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman on Monday, just hours before he was due to depart for a speaking tour. Burke said the government took “a hard line” on people seeking to “spread division,” stating: “If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here.
Rothman, a member of the Religious Zionism party and chair of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee, had been scheduled to speak at events organised by the Australian Jewish Association. The organisation said he planned to meet victims of antisemitic attacks and visit Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue, which was destroyed in an arson attack.
Israel retaliated swiftly, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announcing the revocation of residency visas for Australian diplomatic representatives to the Palestinian Authority. Sa’ar instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to “carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel.”
While antisemitism is raging in Australia, including manifestations of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions, the Australian government is choosing to fuel it,” Sa’ar said in a statement.
Opposition Leader Condemns Netanyahu
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them a “gift” to the Australian Prime Minister. Writing on X, Lapid said: “The thing that most strengthens a leader in the democratic world today is a confrontation with Netanyahu, the most politically toxic leader in the Western world. It is unclear why Bibi is rushing to give the Prime Minister of Australia this gift.
For his part, Albanese maintained his diplomatic composure, telling reporters: “I don’t take these things personally. I treat leaders of other countries with respect, I engage with them in a diplomatic way.” He added that there was growing global concern about the need to end “the cycle of violence that we have seen for far too long.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong accused Netanyahu’s government of isolating Israel, stating: “At a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu Government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution.
Pattern of Visa Denials
The Rothman case is not isolated. Australia has previously denied visas to other controversial Israeli figures, including former justice minister Ayelet Shaked last year and pro-Israel activist Hillel Fuld. Burke defended these decisions, stating he would not “hold out a welcome mat” to people with extreme views.
“One of them has described Palestinian children as the enemy, and the other has described Palestinian children as little snakes,” Burke said. “If anyone wanted to come on a public speaking tour and they had those views publicly expressed about Israeli children, I would block the visa.”
Rothman responded to his visa cancellation by accusing the Australian government of “surrender to terrorism and antisemitism,” claiming officials were “threatened by Islamist jihadists about what will happen if I am allowed to visit.
Growing Antisemitism Concerns
The diplomatic crisis comes amid rising antisemitism in Australia, which is home to one of the world’s largest populations of Holocaust survivors per capita. According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, antisemitic incidents increased by 316 per cent between October 2023 and September 2024, with physical assaults rising by 491 per cent.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the Jewish community was “profoundly disturbed and concerned by the rapidly deteriorating state of relations” between the two countries. However, he rejected Netanyahu’s claim that Australian Jews felt “abandoned” by the Albanese government.
The Australian Jewish Association maintained that Rothman would still appear at their speaking event virtually, declaring: “The Jewish community won’t bow down to Tony Burke or Penny Wong.”
Broader Diplomatic Fallout
Netanyahu’s attack on Albanese follows similar confrontations with other Western leaders. In recent weeks, he launched “scathing attacks” on UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, accusing them of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers” after they announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood.
In a letter to Macron seen by AFP, Netanyahu accused the French president of fuelling “the anti-Semitic fire” in France, claiming: “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement.”
The timing of Australia’s Palestinian state recognition comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. More than 62,064 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s military campaign since 7 October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel launched the offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Political Implications
Australia’s conservative opposition has pledged to reverse the recognition of Palestine if it wins the next election, due in 2028. Opposition leader Sussan Ley warned that the worsening bilateral relationship with Israel was spilling over into Australia’s relationship with the United States, which does not recognise a Palestinian state.
The prime minister needs to explain how he is going to get this relationship (with Israel) that he has so badly mismanaged back on track,” Ley said.
As the diplomatic crisis deepens, Palestine is currently recognised as a state by 147 of the UN’s 193 member states. Australia’s announcement to join this group represents a significant shift in its Middle East policy and marks one of the lowest points in Israeli-Australian relations in recent history.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
Benjamin Netanyahu (24 January 2024) – by Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street, licensed under CC BY‑2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
