Australia has canceled the visa of Israeli social media influencer Sammy Yahood, who has campaigned against Islam, stating the country will not allow visitors who come to spread hatred.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday, “Spreading hatred is not a good reason to come” to Australia, hours after Yahood revealed that his visa was canceled just three hours before his flight from Israel.
Burke emphasized that visitors must apply for the correct visa and come for legitimate reasons.
Shortly before the cancellation, Yahood posted on X, “Islam ACCORDING TO ISLAM does not tolerate non-believers, apostates, women’s rights, children’s rights, or gay rights.” He also described Islam as a “disgusting ideology” and an “aggressor.”
Earlier this month, Australia tightened its hate crime laws following a mass shooting at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which left 15 people dead.
Yahood, a UK native and recent Israeli citizen, had also called for the deportation of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American Muslim. He mocked the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), responsible for Palestinian refugees, whose headquarters in East Jerusalem Israel recently bulldozed—a move widely condemned as a “barbaric new era” of defiance of international law.
Despite the visa cancellation, Yahood said he traveled from Israel to Abu Dhabi but was blocked from boarding his connecting flight to Melbourne. “I have been unlawfully banned from Australia, and I will be taking action,” he posted on X, calling it “a story about tyranny, censorship, and control.”
His visa was canceled under legislation previously used to block entry to people spreading hatred. Minister Burke had earlier revoked the visas of Israeli-American activist Hillel Fuld for “Islamophobic rhetoric” and Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman over concerns his tour would “spread division.”
The conservative Australian Jewish Association, which had invited Yahood to speak in Sydney and Melbourne, “strongly condemned” the government’s decision.
