We went to the Knesset in Jerusalem to speak directly with the people shaping Israel’s future. And one of the most explosive conversations I’ve had in a long time was with Simcha Rotman — the Israeli MP recently barred from Australia by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

What I didn’t expect was for Rotman to turn his fire on me. When I pressed him on whether empathy for innocent civilians in Gaza could exist alongside Israel’s right to defend itself, he snapped back, even accusing me of falling for Hamas propaganda.

In a heated exchange, he went as far as to suggest that believing such narratives was no different than excusing the killing of Israeli babies, which led to a heated moment.

Rotman didn’t hold back at any stage in our interview. He was defiant when telling independent journalist Rukshan Fernando and I the saga of his Australia ban, remembering how his visa was approved, then abruptly cancelled the morning of his flight.

“They cancelled my visa with a long document,” he said, adding the Australian government claimed his statements were “divisive and inflammatory.” According to Rotman, his supposed offence was saying things like “we should eliminate Hamas” and that “Israel is on the good side and Hamas is on the bad side.” He was stunned: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation in Australia. So to say that you need to eliminate a terrorist organisation, I thought that’s in the name.”

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The hypocrisy, is staggering.

“Imams that came to Australia and preached openly in support of the October 7th massacre and atrocities, they were allowed into Australia,” he said. Yet he, an elected MP, is banned for advocating positions held by the majority of Israel’s parliament and by allies in the West. “If you express the views of the majority of the Jews in Israel… just by that, you are banned from Australia.”

Rotman framed this not just as censorship but as enabling antisemitism. “It’s okay to argue. But I don’t think it’s something that should prevent anyone from engaging in discourse… What the Australian government actually did is enabling violence.”

I pressed him on whether his rhetoric could be too extreme for Western audiences, but Rotman pushed back hard. He argued that Israel is unfairly held to a double standard. “Apparently, to say that you support October 7th atrocities, that’s not inflammatory or divisive. But to say Israel has the right to defend itself ... apparently, this is inflammatory and divisive.”

Whether you agree with him or not, one thing is certain: this is a debate Australia’s government didn’t want you to hear.