Jamal Rifi (born 16 June 1959[citation needed]) is a Lebanese-born Australian general practitioner and prominent figure in the Lebanese Muslim community in Sydney.
[1] Rifi has been acknowledged for his work in trying to prevent the radicalisation of young Muslims in Sydney and has been praised for his community work;[2][3] however, he has also been criticised and received death threats, including from terrorist Mohamed Elomar, who once tweeted that he would give money to people who helped intimidate Rifi, whom he described as a "Habashi dog", and his family.
[2][4][5] He has strongly criticised the content some of the material sold in Islamic bookshops, saying that it is better to discuss these issues rather than banning books.
[8] When he was announced as the winner, he was praised by senior politician Scott Morrison who said that Rifi is a "great Australian".
[10] In 2021, Rifi was sentenced in absentia to 10 years imprisonment by the Lebanese military tribunal for "collaborating with Israel" through his work with Project Rozana, which helps provide medical training for Palestinian medical workers and helps organise the transfer of Palestinian patients to hospitals in Israel.