Thousands protest over Israeli President Herzog’s visit to Australia

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest over the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.

The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organised protests in cities and towns across the country on Monday evening.

In Sydney, thousands gathered in a square in the city’s central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestine slogans.

“The Bondi massacre was terrible but from our Australian leadership there’s been no acknowledgment of the Palestinian people and the Gazans,” said Jackson Elliott, a 30-year-old protestor from Sydney.

“Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations but he is complicit.”

There was a heavy police presence with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback.

Police used pepper spray and tear gas to push back groups of people who were trying to breach the line and march ahead. Several protesters were arrested as they clashed with police.

Authorities in Sydney declared Herzog’s visit a major event and were authorised to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.

On Monday in a Sydney court, the Palestine Action Group – which organised the protest – failed to legally challenge the restrictions on the demonstration.

PRESIDENT COMMEMORATES LIVES LOST

Meanwhile, thousands of Jewish community members, government officials and opposition party politicians welcomed Herzog at an event, more than a kilometre away from the protests, honouring the victims of the Bondi attack.

“We all remember the boycotts, the threats, the colleagues who turned their backs on their Jewish friends … that was the prelude to Bondi,” he told a large crowd at Sydney’s International Convention Centre, according to an ABC News report.

Herzog began his visit earlier on Monday at Bondi Beach, where he laid a wreath at a memorial for the victims of the attack. He also met survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the shooting.

“This was also an attack on all Australians. They attacked the values that our democracies treasure, the sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity and respect,” Herzog said in remarks at the site.

In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”

The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.