Who is Simcha Rothman, the Israeli MP barred from Australia?

The cancellation of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman’s visa to Australia this week has sparked a tit-for-tat diplomatic stoush between Australia and Israel, resulting in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branding Anthony Albanese “weak”.

Who is Rothman and why is he controversial?

Who is Simcha Rothman?

Simcha Rothman is a lawyer who was elected to the Israeli parliament, called the Knesset, in 2021 as a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party.

He is a settler who lives in Lod, one of Israel’s “mixed cities” home to both Arabs and Israelis, where eruptions of ethnic and political violence are common. The region was part of the area the United Nations voted to designate for a Palestinian state in 1947 before it was taken over by Israel the following year.

Rothman is a vocal opponent to what he calls “judicial activism” in Israel’s courts, such as the Supreme Court’s decisions to strike down laws that would retroactively legalise illegal settlements in the West Bank, and legislation to defer military service for full-time Torah students. He co-founded the Movement for Governability and Democracy in 2013, an organisation that lobbies to establish a balance between Israel’s branches of government, largely by diluting the power of the courts.

Rothman chairs the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which has internally pushed controversial judicial reform in Israel, including curbing the Supreme Court’s power to rule government legislation as unconstitutional, and giving the parliament the ability to appoint the judicial branch watchdog.

Rothman’s home was blockaded when tens of thousands of Israelis, including IDF reservists, took to the streets in 2023 to protest the reforms, which were widely condemned as a power grab while the country was embroiled in a bitter battle with Hamas.

What is the Religious Zionist Party?

The Religious Zionist party is a far-right nationalist party that advocates for strengthening Jewish religious identity in the region and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank – actions that Australia and most of the international community oppose because they are illegal under international law.

The Times of Israel reported in 2022 that the party had extracted concessions from Netanyahu in an agreement to form a governing coalition, including a vague commitment to annex the West Bank and legalise dozens of unauthorised settlements.

“The Jewish people have the exclusive and indisputable right to all parts of the Land of Israel,” the agreement states.

Netanyahu relies on the party to form government, dragging the broader coalition towards a right-wing party position.

The party’s leader, Bezalel Smotrich, is one of two Israeli politicians under Australian sanctions for his advocacy for settler violence and the destruction of Gaza.

In its reasoning for rejecting Rothman’s visa, the Home Affairs Department pointed to Smotrich’s views, including his opposition to Palestinian statehood and denial of the existence of a Palestinian people.

Smotrich announced last week, following international momentum towards recognition of a Palestinian state, a long-delayed settlement that could divide the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem would be restarted, a move his office said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

Why did the Australian government cancel Rothman’s visa?

Rothman had been invited to Australia by the Australian Jewish Association to attend events with Jewish groups and schools this month. His visa was granted on August 8, then cancelled 10 days later, before he had come to Australia.

The Department of Home Affairs outlined its decision in a document which referenced public comments from Rothman calling Gazan children “enemies” of Israel, denying they were being starved, and claiming the idea of a two-state solution had “poisoned the minds of the entire world” and was the “first step toward the destruction of the State of Israel”.

The AJA said the visit was to foster communication between Israeli lawmakers and the Australian Jewish community.

But a department delegate who rescinded the visa said Rothman could use the events in Australia to promote his “controversial views and ideologies, which may lead to fostering division in the community”.

“The use of platforms for inflammatory rhetoric can lead to increased hate crimes, radicalisation of individuals and heightened tensions in communities,” the delegate said in the document.

They said Rothman could put at risk the “good order” of Australian society, specifically in the Islamic population.

What does Rothman plan to do now?

Rothman said he would not be deterred and would be a “proud voice of the Jewish people heard wherever I am”, labelling the Australian government’s decision as antisemitic.

The AJA said it would host Rothman on Zoom instead so he could still speak to Jewish Australians.

“The Australian government’s decision to deny me the opportunity to come and speak to my people, due to expressing simple and clear positions, is clear and blatant antisemitism that gives a boost to terrorism,” Rothman wrote in Hebrew on X.

“In the decision to deny the visa, the Australian home affairs minister claims that my presence and my words will have a serious impact on peace and the rule of law in Australia, meaning that the Islamist mob calling for the destruction of Israel on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne will not be happy about my presence.”

The ABC has reported Rothman insisted he was being blocked from entering Australia only because he said, “Hamas is bad and Israel is good”, and when asked to concede his views were at odds with Australia’s foreign policy, said the government was afraid of open discourse about its policies.

The AJA, who had organised Rothman’s speaking engagements, posted to X: “The show will go on. The Jew-haters will not win”.

“The Jewish community won’t bow down to Tony Burke or Penny Wong. Instead of many events, we will hold one large communal event where Simcha will address the Jewish community via Zoom.”

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