Israel president says anti-Semitism in Australia ‘frightening’
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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said a “wave” of anti-Jewish hatred in Australia had culminated in the Dec 14 Bondi killings.
PHOTO: EPA
MELBOURNE - Anti-Semitism in Australia is “frightening”, but most people want good relations, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Feb 12 as he wrapped up a four-day visit and was met by protests in the city of Melbourne.
Mr Herzog’s tightly policed four-day visit to Australia this week was meant to offer consolation to the country’s Jewish community following December’s mass shooting at Bondi beach
However, it sparked demonstrations in major cities including Sydney, where police used pepper spray on protesters and members of the media, including an AFP photographer, during scuffles in the city’s central business district on the night of Feb 9.
Mr Herzog told Channel Seven’s Sunrise a “wave” of anti-Jewish hatred in Australia had culminated in the Dec 14 Bondi killings.
“It is frightening and worrying,” he said. “But there’s also a silent majority of Australians who seek peace, who respect the Jewish community and of course, want a dialogue with Israel.”
The head of state said he had brought a “message of goodwill to the people of Australia”.
“I hope there will be a change. I hope things will relax,” he said.
Mr Herzog attended a Jewish community event after a meeting with Victoria’s Governor at Melbourne’s Government House.
Protesters waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans squared off with police outside the event.
More were expected to turn out in force later on Feb 12 at around 5pm.
Mr Herzog told the audience at the community event: “We came here to be with you, to look you in the eye, to embrace and remember.”
He also said demonstrators outside should instead “go protest in front of the Iranian embassy”.
The Australian government accused Iran in 2025 of orchestrating a recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks and expelled Tehran’s ambassador
Canberra, citing intelligence findings, accused Tehran of directing the torching of a kosher cafe in the Sydney suburb of Bondi in October 2024 and a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.
Ahead of the Israeli President’s arrival, national broadcaster ABC reported that a building at Melbourne University was graffitied with the phrase “death to Herzog”.
Many Jewish Australians have welcomed Mr Herzog’s trip.
“His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community,” said Mr Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community’s peak body.
But some in the community disagreed, with the progressive Jewish Council of Australia saying he was not welcome because of his alleged role in the “ongoing destruction of Gaza”.
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found in 2025 that Mr Herzog was liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians – “an entire nation” – were responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel
Israel has “categorically” rejected the inquiry’s report, describing it as “distorted and false” and calling for the body’s abolition. AFP
