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Relations between Israel and Australia have deteriorated sharply, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, of having "betrayed Israel" and "abandoned" Australia's Jewish community. The accusations follow Australia's decision to bar a far-right member of Netanyahu's ruling coalition from entering the country, and Israel's retaliatory move to revoke visas for Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said Netanyahu was "lashing out" over Canberra recently announcing it would join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state.
"Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many people you can leave hungry," Burke told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.
Burke told local media at the time that the government took "a hard line" on people seeking to "spread division".
"If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don't want you here," he said.
In recent months, there have been a string of antisemitic attacks in Australia - which is home to one of the world's largest populations of Holocaust survivors per capita.
On Tuesday, the AJA said Rothman would still appear at their speaking event virtually.
Australia announced in early August that it would recognise a Palestinian state, with Albanese saying at the time that Netanyahu was "in denial" about the consequences of the war on innocent people.
Palestine is currently recognised as a state by 147 of the UN's 193 member states, and Australia's announcement came about two weeks after similar moves by the UK, France and Canada.
In response, Netanyahu launched a scathing attack on the leaders of the three countries, accusing Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of siding with "mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers".
