Australia has cancelled the visa of Israeli social media influencer Sammy Yahood, who runs an anti-Islam campaign, saying it will not allow visitors who spread hatred to come to the country.
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said on Tuesday, “Spreading hatred is not a good reason to come to Australia.” The cancellation came just hours after Yahood announced that his visa had been revoked three hours before his flight from Israel.
“People who want to visit Australia should apply for the correct visa and come for the right reasons,” Burke told a foreign media outlet.
Before his visa was cancelled, Yahood had posted on X, “Islam ACCORDING TO ISLAM does not tolerate non-believers, apostates, women’s rights, children’s rights, or gay rights.”
Yahood, originally from the UK and a recent Israeli citizen, had also advocated for the deportation of United States Representative Ilhan Omar [A Somali-American Muslim] and ridiculed the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Last week, Israel bulldozed UNRWA’s headquarters in East Jerusalem, drawing strong condemnation from Palestinian leaders and the international community.
Despite the visa cancellation, Yahood flew from Israel to Abu Dhabi but could not board his connecting flight to Melbourne.
He wrote on X, “I have been unlawfully banned from Australia, and I will be taking action,” adding, “This is a story about tyranny, censorship and control.”
Yahood’s visa was cancelled under legislation previously used to block visitors who promote hatred. Minister Burke has revoked visas in the past for Israeli-American activist Hillel Fuld and Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman over Islamophobic rhetoric and concerns that their visits would spread division.
The conservative Australian Jewish Association, which had invited Yahood to speak in Sydney and Melbourne, strongly condemned the decision by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government.