Israel’s prime minister has accused his Australian counterpart of betraying Israel and abandoning the country’s Jewish community, amid rising tensions between the two nations, the BBC reports.

The conflict intensified after Australia barred a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition from entering the country. In response, Israel then went on to remove visas issued to Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

According to the BBC, the dispute came shortly after Canberra announced it would join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state, a move that Netanyahu criticised. Australian authorities meanwhile characterised the Israeli leader’s response as politically motivated.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to treat the matter diplomatically, signalling that he would not take Netanyahu’s remarks personally. At the same time, Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, condemned Netanyahu’s attacks, suggesting they only served to strengthen the Australian leader’s standing in the international democratic community.

Tensions initially escalated when Israeli politician Simcha Rothman had his Australian visa cancelled ahead of a planned visit to speak at events organised by the Australian Jewish Association (AJA). The Australian government maintained that individuals intending to promote division within the country would not be welcome.

This was not the first such case. In 2024, a visa was also denied to Israel’s former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, a politician who left parliament in 2022.

Following Rothman’s visa revocation, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, signalled that Australian visa applications would be closely scrutinised, citing concerns about rising antisemitism in the country. Australia has experienced a recent wave of antisemitic attacks despite hosting one of the world’s largest per capita populations of Holocaust survivors.

The AJA subsequently confirmed that Rothman would still appear at the speaking event virtually, emphasising the resilience of Australia’s Jewish community while also criticising their own politicians.