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Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has arrived in Sydney for a four-day trip to Australia to speak to survivors of the Bondi terror attack and the victims’ families.
In a post on X, the Israeli embassy said Herzog and his wife, Michal Herzog, were met by Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, after their plane touched down in Sydney on Monday. “Welcome to Australia, President Isaac Herzog!” the embassy said.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) welcomed Herzog’s visit as a moment of profound significance.
The co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin, said Herzog’s visit would mean “a great deal” for survivors and families.
“His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community and, we hope, it will lead to a much-needed recalibration of bilateral relations between two historic allies,” he said.
The details of Herzog’s visit were tightly controlled. He laid a wreath at Bondi on Monday before midday and was expected to address community events in Sydney before travelling to Canberra and Melbourne.
Israel’s government press office shared some information in a post on X on Monday morning. A spokesperson for Herzog said he would visit “Jewish communities across Australia to express solidarity and offer strength to the community in the aftermath of the [Bondi beach] attack”.
They said Herzog would meet with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, “as well as with leaders from across the political spectrum”. Herzog would conduct media interviews.
Albanese invited Herzog after the 14 December antisemitic shooting, saying his visit was intended to foster a greater sense of unity.
Other members of Australia’s Jewish community signed a letter published on Monday saying the Israeli president was not welcome in Australia, taking out full-page ads in the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald newspapers.
“Welcoming [Herzog] in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre betrays Jewish communities, multicultural Australia and everyone who stands for Palestinian human rights and international law,” the letter, signed by more than 600 members of the Jewish community, read. The ads were organised by the Jewish Council of Australia, which has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government.
Some have called for Herzog’s arrest after a finding by a UN commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, that Herzog, along with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and then defence minister, Yoav Gallant, “have incited the commission of genocide”.
Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the international court of justice a “form of blood libel” and pushed back on criticism of his 2023 statement that “it is an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the 7 October attacks on Israel.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, called for calm on Monday, as a supreme court hearing was set to determine whether a “major event” designation would remain in place for a planned march by the Palestine Action Group against the visit.
The Palestine Action Group planned to march from the Town Hall to state parliament on Monday evening, potentially breaching a public assembly restriction declaration extended by police last week.
Minns told reporters on Monday he did not want to “frontrun” the judgment, but rejected the idea that the government had invoked additional the special event powers – allowing police move people on, close specific locations and conduct searches – in an attempt to curtail protests.
Minns, who advised of a “massive police operation”, including 500 officers in Sydney’s inner ring, and officers carrying long-arm rifles in “various areas”, said police continued to negotiate with protesters for them to march south from Hyde Park instead.
The premier said he was concerned about the division the visit had caused, saying “it doesn’t have to spill into conflict on Sydney streets”.
“I know that there’s disagreement about this visit, but I think it’s hugely important for the long-term unity of the city and the country, if there is disagreement, it’s done in a calm and respectful way,” he said.
