Avi Yemini

Australian far-right political activist

  • Australian
  • Israeli
EducationYeshivah College, Melbourne[1]Occupations
  • Soldier
  • Activist
EmployerRebel News (since 2020)Political partyLiberty Alliance (2018–2019)[1][2]Military careerAllegiance IsraelService/branch Israel Defense ForcesYears of service2004–2007UnitGolani Brigade
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Avraham Shalom Yemini (né Waks; born 17 October 1985)[3][4][5] is an Australian-Israeli far-right political activist.[6][7][8][9] From 2020 onwards he has worked as the Australian correspondent for Rebel News,[1] a Canadian far-right website.[10]

Early life

Yemini was born in Melbourne, Victoria to Zephaniah (formerly Stephen) and Hava Waks,[11] and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East.[1] He is one of seventeen children.[1] One of his elder siblings is Manny Waks.[5]

Yemini attended Yeshivah College, and was later sent to ultra-Orthodox schools in the U.S., Israel and Brazil. He returned to Melbourne when he was 16, and subsequently became addicted to heroin. He spent the next two years in rehab, foster homes and crisis care.[1]

Activities

Yemini joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when he was 19, in an effort to straighten out.[1] He served with the IDF's Golani Brigade from 2005 until 2008. Most of his active duty was spent along the border of the Gaza Strip.[12]

After returning to Australia, Yemini opened his first IDF gym in Caulfield, Victoria, followed by a second in Melbourne's CBD in 2016.[13][14] In 2018, Yemeni sold the gyms.[1]

On 4 March 2018, Yemini joined the Australian Liberty Alliance to run as a candidate for the Southern Metropolitan Region at the 2018 Victorian state election.[15] He was unsuccessful, receiving 0.49% of the vote.[16] Through the party and his collaboration with Tommy Robinson and Rebel News, he has been affiliated with the counter-jihad movement.[17]

In August 2022, Yemini was denied entry to New Zealand due to his 2019 criminal conviction for assaulting his ex-wife.[8] Yemini claimed the decision was due to an article in The New Zealand Herald that described him and fellow content creator Rukshan Fernando as "Australian conspiracy commentators".[18][19] Yemini was allowed entry to New Zealand in 2023.[20]

Social media bans

In April 2016, the Facebook page for Yemini's gym was banned for three days for sharing an antisemitic post with the hashtag "saynotoracism". Yemini said he had shared the post to raise awareness of the intolerance faced by the Jewish community.[12]

In August 2018, Yemini's main Facebook page was banned for hate speech violations. The decision came after Yemini posted the personal phone number of journalist Osman Faruqi, resulting in Faruqi receiving abusive messages and death threats from Yemini's followers.[21][22]

In September 2020, two of Yemini's Facebook pages were banned following inquiries by Gizmodo Australia.[22] As of February 2021, Yemini was posting anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown content on Facebook.[23]

Views

Yemini has described himself as a "proud Zionist".[24] He has described himself as "proudly anti-Islam", Islam as a "barbaric ideology", and Muslim countries as "Islamic shitholes".[25] At a 2018 demonstration against the imprisonment of Tommy Robinson, Yemini declared himself to be "the world's proudest Jewish Nazi".[18]

Legal issues

In 2016, one of Yemeni's brothers, Manny Waks, sued him for defamation after he claimed that Waks and their father were harbouring a known paedophile in the family home.[26] Waks dropped the lawsuit after Yemini apologised a few months later.[1]

In July 2019, Yemini admitted to throwing a chopping board that hit his former wife on her forehead in 2016. He also pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to harass by sending abusive text messages to her, and one charge of breaching an intervention order relating to a video of a man. Yemini's lawyer argued he had not meant to hit her.[27][28]

In 2021, Yemini took legal action against three Victorian parliamentary officials − including former Legislative Assembly speaker Colin Brooks − after he was denied media accreditation in July of that year.[29] Yemini subsequently lost the case.[30]

In 2023, Yemini sued Facebook fact-checker RMIT FactLab for labeling Rebel News content as "misleading". The case was dismissed as he had "failed to make any formal inquiries via appropriate channels with relevant persons".[9]

Personal life

Yemini lives in Berwick, Victoria with his wife, a hairdresser. They met at a coffee shop in 2018.[1]

Yemini is vaccinated against COVID-19. He exercises daily, between 8 and 9:30 am.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Elliott, Tim (18 February 2023). "'He's exploiting people who are genuinely scared': Avi Yemini and the art of outrage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  2. ^ Martin, Lisa (15 November 2018). "Victorian Liberal party candidate asked to resign over 'anti-Muslim' video". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ Chobocky, Barbara (2002). "Welcome to the Waks Family". Jewish Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Welcome to the Waks Family". The Age. 18 March 2004. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Levi, Joshua (6 October 2016). "Manny Waks sues brother". The Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  6. ^ McGowan, Michael (24 September 2021). "Workers' rights or the far right: who was behind Melbourne's pandemic protests?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Far right activist Avi Yemini convicted and fined for assaulting ex-wife". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Far-right conspiracy theorist Avi Yemini denied entry into New Zealand because of criminal conviction". Newshub. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Sibthorpe, Clare (18 August 2023). "Controversial activist Avi Yemini pulls out of legal fight with RMIT over fact-checking article". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  10. ^ Rebel News:
    • Perry, Barbara; Scrivens, Ryan (19 August 2019). Right-Wing Extremism in Canada. Springer International. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-030-25169-7. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2020 – via Google Books. In 2015, he established Rebel Media, a far-right outlet that regularly features global and domestic "stars" of the nationalist movement.
    • Titley, Gavan (2 July 2020). "The distribution of nationalist and racist discourse" (PDF). Journal of Multicultural Discourses. 15 (3). Taylor & Francis: 7. doi:10.1080/17447143.2020.1780245. S2CID 221521303. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022. Far-right Twitter accounts come and go, often generating significant traction without any obvious relation to organised movements. As a stage of his reinvention of self after the EDL, its leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon ('Tommy Robinson') reinvented himself as a journalist, working for the Canadian far-right media company Rebel Media.
    • Mirrlees, Tanner (3 August 2018). "The Alt-right's Discourse on "Cultural Marxism": A Political Instrument of Intersectional Hate". Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice. 39 (1). Mount Saint Vincent University: 61. ISSN 1715-0698. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020. The Rebel Media, a far-right news organization, published articles by Canadian alt-right propagandists such as: "Want to sop cultural Marxist indoctrination? Cut public funding of universities" (Nicholas 2017); "Social justice is socialism in disguise" (Goldy 2016); and "How progressives use our kids for Marxist social experiments" (Goldy 2017).
    • Perry, Barbara; Mirrlees, Tanner; Scrivens, Ryan (27 February 2019). "The Dangers of Porous Borders". Journal of Hate Studies. 14 (1). Gonzaga University: 61. doi:10.33972/jhs.124. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020. Far-right Canadian media outlets, for instance, have bombarded its subscribers with all kinds of pro-Trump, racist and xenophobic dialogue, both before and after Trump's victory. Rebel Media, a popular far-right online media platform run by Ezra Levant, a controversial Canadian far-right political activist, writer and broadcaster, has been an outright supporter of Trump, publishing countless extreme-right leaning articles on why to support him.
    • Zhang, Xinyi; Davis, Mark (7 June 2022). "E-extremism: A conceptual framework for studying the online far right". New Media & Society. 26 (5). SAGE: 2954–2970. doi:10.1177/14614448221098360. ISSN 1461-4448. S2CID 249482748. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022. Beyond US-based far-right news websites such as Breitbart, Infowars and Epoch Times, other alternative online media outlets include Australia-based XYZ and The Unshackled, Canada-based Rebel News and UK-based Politicalite.com and PoliticalUK.co.uk, just to name a few, which operate as far-right metapolitical channels and counter-publics that strive to influence mainstream culture and discourse (Holt, 2019).
    • Gilligan, Andrew (5 August 2018). "Tommy Robinson winds up bigots and the cash floods in". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022. All four, including Robinson himself, were employees of The Rebel Media, a Toronto-based far-right website.
    • Scott, Mark (16 May 2017). "U.S. Far-Right Activists Promote Hacking Attack Against Macron". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jack Posobiec, a journalist with the far-right news outlet The Rebel, was the first to use the hashtag with a link to the hacked documents online, which was then shared more widely by WikiLeaks.
    • Craig, Sean (19 August 2017). "A fight over a four-bedroom house: The Rebel Media meltdown and the full recording at the centre of the controversy". Global News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017. With politicians including Conservative heavyweights Andrew Scheer and Brian Jean swearing off appearances and a raft of exits by prominent contributors, Ezra Levant's far-right video and commentary network The Rebel spent the last week in damage control, trying to distance itself from the extremist alt-right movement whose values many have alleged the site's content too often sympathized with.
  11. ^ Hall, Bianca (27 September 2016). "Manny Waks sues brother for defamation over 'harbouring paedophile' claims". The Age. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b Hall, Bianca (8 April 2016). "Jewish business IDF Training banned from Facebook after sharing anti-Semitic post". The Age. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  13. ^ Hall, Bianca (1 November 2015). "Melbourne gym recruits members for Israeli army". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Self Defence Classes, Martial Arts Melbourne, Muay Thai Melbourne, Boxing Melbourne". www.idftraining.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Avi Yemeni is joining forces with ALA" Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine Australian Liberty Alliance
  16. ^ "State Election 2018: Southern Metropolitan Region results summary - Victorian Electoral Commission". www.vec.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  17. ^ McSwiney, Jordan (2024). Far-Right Political Parties in Australia: Disorganisation and Electoral Failure. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781003848929. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Parliament protest: Australian conspiracy commentator reportedly denied entry". The New Zealand Herald. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  19. ^ Wilson, Cam (23 August 2022). "Right-wing commentator Avi Yemini denied entry to New Zealand over domestic abuse conviction". Crikey. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Far-right conspiracy theorist allowed entry into NZ after originally being denied". Newshub. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  21. ^ Esposito, Brad (3 August 2018). "This Journalist Got Death Threats After Being Doxxed By An Activist. Facebook Took 18 Hours To Respond". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  22. ^ a b Wilson, Cam (22 September 2020). "Avi Yemini, The Far-Right Activist Who's Suing The Victorian Government, Has Been Banned From Facebook Again". Gizmodo Australia. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  23. ^ Taylor, Josh; McGowan, Michael; Bland, Archie (19 February 2021). "Misinformation runs rampant as Facebook says it may take a week before it unblocks some pages". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  24. ^ Surkes, Sue (14 March 2017). "Caller threatens to kill Melbourne Jewish gym owner". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  25. ^ Halliday, Josh (7 December 2018). "Anti-Islam activists get key roles in 'family-friendly' Brexit march". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  26. ^ Hall, Bianca (27 September 2016). "Manny Waks sues brother for defamation over 'harbouring paedophile' claims". The Age. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  27. ^ Andrews, Jon. "Far-right political player Avi Yemini admits unlawful assault on ex-wife by throwing chopping board". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Avi Yemini, 'spokesperson' for Tommy Robinson, convicted of assaulting his ex-wife". The Jewish Chronicle. 31 July 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  29. ^ "YEMINI V ELASMAR - TRIAL". Supreme Court of Victoria. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  30. ^ Antrobus, Blake (18 December 2022). "'Press freedom is dead': YouTuber's complaint after Supreme Court dismisses press pass legal fight". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.