Australia cancels visa of influencer Sammy Yahood

The Australian government has cancelled the visa of Jewish influencer Sammy Yahood, who had been due to speak at several events in Australia, the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) said. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed he cancelled the visa on Monday evening and said "spreading hatred is not a good reason to come." The AJA said the visa was cancelled three hours before his flight was due to depart.

Yahood has posted on X (formerly Twitter) calling Islam a "murderous ideology", a "disgusting ideology" and saying Islam "cannot be trusted to simply 'co-exist'"; on 6 November he wrote: "It’s time to ban Islam. It’s time to stop being tolerant of those that are not tolerant of us." Yahood, who grew up in the United Kingdom and recently moved to Israel, was due to run a series of "self defence workshops" and launch a "peace through strength" campaign.

The AJA said he was scheduled to speak in major synagogues and to other organisations, and criticised the timing of the cancellation: "Sammy is the latest Jew to have his visa cancelled by this government.

Key Topics

Politics, Sammy Yahood, Tony Burke, Australian Jewish Association, Visa Cancellation, Peace Through Strength