A former Israeli government minister has been refused a visa to come to Australia over concerns he would threaten social cohesion, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in his first public statement on the matter.

Right-wing politician Ayelet Shaked, who is leaving parliament in 2022, sparked a reaction from the Israeli government by accusing the Australian government of anti-Semitism after her visa was rejected last month.

The former justice minister had applied to attend a security conference in Canberra and other events organized by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

On Sunday, Mr Burke said Ms Shaked had not requested a visa on behalf of the Israeli government and was planning to travel to Australia on a public speaking tour.

He added that the former head of the Israeli Air Force also requested a visa to attend the same conference and this was approved.

“My ministry refuses visas to people who want to come here and talk about the conflict if we think they will seriously undermine social cohesion while they are here,” he said in an interview with Sky News.

“Let me put it this way, if someone came here and wanted to make a public statement and stated in their previous statements that they wanted all Jews to leave Israel… I would not give them a visa.

“Ms. Shaked said all Palestinians should leave Gaza.”

Mr Burke referred to a number of past comments by Ms Shaked, including an interview last year in which she said the city of Khan Younis in Gaza should be turned into a football field.

“My view is really simple: If you’re just coming here to humiliate people, we can do without you,” Mr. Burke said.

“Whether that hatred belittles Israelis or denigrates Palestinians, I will take the same hard line.”

Last month, the Israeli Foreign Ministry described the decision to reject Ms Shaked’s visa applications as “extremely offensive and disturbing”, while the former minister claimed it was rejected because it was against the Palestinian state.

“The problem here is not that I can’t get a visa. The problem here is that the current Australian government is anti-Semitic.” Ms Shaked said on social media platform X: In November.

Burke questioned about ICC arrest warrant

During the long and wide-ranging conversation, Mr. Burke was also asked about the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November, the court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as senior Hamas official Mohammed Deif, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Israel-Gaza war.

Israel has challenged the legality of the ICC prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant, and Netanyahu has said he will object to them.

Asked whether the Israeli prime minister would be arrested if he traveled to Australia, Mr Burke noted previous comments by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in which she said Australia respected the independence of the ICC and the importance of international law.

“Our support for international law used to be bipartisan; under the Howard government he made a simple statement about an institution we signed up to and Penny didn’t go into further detail and I won’t,” he said.

Israel is not a member state of the ICC and therefore does not recognize its jurisdiction over Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Australia is one of 124 member states, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to comment on the issue when applications for arrest warrants were made earlier this year.