Last week the Australian government denied a visitor’s visa to Ayelet Shaked, a right-wing former Israeli cabinet minister, while this week the Israeli government sanctioned Haaretz, the country’s oldest and left-leaning newspaper, with the communications minister accusing the paper of “anti-Israeli incitement”.

These actions highlight just how sensitive commentary and reporting on issues relating to conflict in the Middle East can be, regardless of one’s closeness to or distance from the region. It also highlights why it is hard but necessary for governments to find balance when dealing with issues relating to the conflict, and why advocacy groups in Australia should play a more responsible role in choosing who they ask to contribute to the public debate in this country.

Former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked was refused an Australian visa on character grounds.Credit: AP

Before Shaked was denied entry to Australia, it is likely that few Australians knew that a provocatively titled meeting called the Canberra-Jerusalem Strategic Dialogue was being hosted by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. Given the title linked Australia’s capital with Jerusalem – a city that Israel claims, but Australia does not recognise, as its capital – it is unlikely that it would have featured a balanced examination of the complex issues........

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