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Israel Advocate Denied Australian Visa

By Jo Sarah Stanford ~Bridges for Peace
Hillel Fuld (pictured), whose visa cancelation follows a growing pattern of denied entry to Israeli figures, including former Minister Ayelet Shaked. (Photo Credit: אגם רפאלי/Wikimedia.org)

Monday, 9 June 2025 | The Australian government has made a controversial decision in canceling the travel visa of Israeli advocate and entrepreneur, Hillel Fuld. 

Hillel Fuld, a well-known name in Israel’s social media and technology sphere, was scheduled to come to Australia later this week for speaking engagements in Melbourne and Sydney. Event organizers, Australian Friends of Magen David Adom, advertised he would share on the “intersection of tech, innovation, and humanitarian impact.” Money raised by the event was going to Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, to build a new ambulance station in Israel’s south. 

Only a week out from the events, the decision came as a bitter blow, especially given the history of the Fuld family. Hillel’s brother, Ari, was murdered in a terror attack just outside Jerusalem in 2018. 

The reason given for Fuld’s canceled visa was that he posed a threat to “the health, safety or good order” of Australians. Tony Burke, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister accused Fuld of Islamophobia and spreading propaganda due to his social media posts that, in reality, factually refuted Hamas’s claims of genocide in Gaza. 

It is also claimed that Fuld, a duel American-Israeli citizen did not list his Israeli citizenship on his last visa application to Australia during a 2018 visit. However, under Australian law it is not compulsory to list every citizenship held; visitors only need use the same passport to enter/exit the country under which they applied. 

In an interview to i24 News, Fuld called the decision “a betrayal of free speech,” and “ridiculous on so many levels” and called the reasoning behind it a “lame excuse.” 

Jewish groups in Australia are in an outcry, accusing the recently re-elected Labor government of blatant antisemitism, especially as pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas supporter and UN special rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, was allowed into the country in November 2023 and even invited to address the National Press Club. The Opposition Government has issued a formal “please explain” regarding the decision on Fuld’s visa. Meanwhile, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has also criticized the decision. If the cancelation is upheld, Fuld will be barred from entering Australia for three years. 

The Australian government has previously come under fire in 2024, when they denied a travel visa to former Israeli Minister Ayelet Shaked. Additionally, siblings Omer (24) and Ella (22) Berger were effectively denied visas when they were required to complete an extra 13-page document detailing their involvement in the IDF—including questions asking if they had participated in genocide—before being allowed into the country. They were coming to Australia with other family members to celebrate their great-grandmother’s—a Holocaust survivor—100th birthday. The extra process left them stranded in Thailand and cut into their holiday time, and while Omer was eventually allowed into Australia, Ella’s military leave expired and she had to return home. 

In light of recent events, the Australian Jewish Association has now issued a warning to Israelis traveling to Australia, citing the strong possibility they also may be denied entry. Jewish advocacy groups have rallied behind Fuld in hopes that his visa will be reinstated so he can complete his tour. If his visa is not reinstated, Fuld will hold the events online.

(Bridges for Peace, June 9, 2025)

License: Wikimedia

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