January 27, 2026 | 08:28 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australia has cancelled the visa of an influencer from Israel over Islamophobic campaigns. Australia stated that it will not accept visitors who come to spread hatred.
Sammy Yahood, an Israeli influencer, had commented on social media that Islam is a "disgusting ideology." On Monday, Yahood said his visa was cancelled only three hours before his scheduled departure from Israel.
Yahood still flew to Abu Dhabi but was barred from boarding his connecting flight. "This is a story about tyranny, censorship and control," he wrote on X, as quoted by NDTV.
Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said in a statement on Tuesday that people who want to visit Australia must apply for the appropriate visa and come for the right reasons. "Spreading hatred is not a good reason to come here," said Burke.
Australia tightened hate crime laws earlier this month in response to the mass shooting on December 14 during Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach, which resulted in the deaths of 15 people.
Yahood's visa was reportedly cancelled under the same law used in the past to refuse visas to people for reasons of hatred.
The conservative Australian Jewish Association, which had invited the influencer to speak at events, said that it "strongly condemn" the visa decision by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government. The report criticized the visa cancellations for other Jewish visitors, including right-wing Israeli politician Simcha Rothman who was blocked last year.
"This latest cancellation reinforces deep concerns within the Jewish community that, despite the horror of the Bondi massacre and the government's belated apology, the Albanese Government hasn't changed and was never genuine," said the association's executive director, Robert Gregory, in a statement.
Yahood is a native of the UK and recently became an Israeli citizen. He also supported the deportation of US Representative Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Somali-American.
In another post cited from Al Jazeera, he mocked the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, responsible for coordinating aid to Palestinians and Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Israel began demolishing UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem last week, an action strongly condemned by the international community and Palestinian leaders, who said the demolition marked a "barbaric new era" of international law by Israeli authorities.
Sky News Australia reported that Minister Burke had previously revoked the visit visa of Israeli-American tech entrepreneur and activist Hillel Fuld due to his "Islamophobic rhetoric," as well as the visa of Simcha Rothman, a member of Israel's far-right parliamentary party Mafdal-Religious Zionism. Australia also revoked the visa of a member of Netanyahu's government coalition amid concerns that his planned speaking tour in the country would "spread division."
Read: Bondi Beach Shooting: PM Albanese Vows Crackdown on Hate
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