Pro-Palestine groups to protest Israeli president’s visit to Australia

Isaac Herzog to commemorate Bondi Beach mass shooting victims, but activists say he should not escape scrutiny over Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian groups are planning several rallies across Australia to oppose a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog despite the government’s restrictions on rallies.

Herzog is scheduled to visit Sydney on Monday to honour the victims of December’s Bondi Beach attack, which killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Starvation by design: How Israel turned food into a weapon of war in Gaza
• list 2 of 4Israel’s Gaza genocide risks global order, leaders warn at Al Jazeera Forum
• list 3 of 4Families ‘inconsolable’ in Gaza as Israel returns more unidentified bodies
• list 4 of 4Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ to convene in Washington, discuss Gaza: Report

In response to the attack, the state of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, passed legislation allowing police to restrict public protests for up to three months. Authorities have invoked these powers in parts of central Sydney during Herzog’s visit.

But the Palestine Action Group plans to hold a protest at Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday, according to the ABC News broadcaster.

Organisers of the protest said they plan to walk from Town Hall to Macquarie Street despite the route falling within the restriction zone as the state government urged them to choose a different location.

Similar protests are planned Monday in other Australian cities, including Perth, Melbourne and the capital, Canberra.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), a national coalition for Palestinian human rights, said the Israeli president should not be welcomed and he must be held “accountable”.

“Isaac Herzog is not a ceremonial guest. He is the head of state of a government carrying out genocide in Gaza, enforcing occupation, and maintaining apartheid over Palestinians. His rhetoric was cited by the International Court of Justice in assessing the risk of genocide,” APAN posted on X.

Rights group Amnesty International’s Australia chapter also urged people to take to the streets on Monday when Herzog arrives, citing his role in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

“President Herzog has unleashed immense suffering on Palestinians in Gaza for over two years – brazenly and with total impunity,” it said. “Welcoming President Herzog as an official guest undermines Australia’s commitment to accountability and justice. We cannot remain silent.”

The progressive Jewish Council of Australia also opposed Herzog’s visit, saying, “We refuse to let our grief for the Bondi massacre be used to legitimise” the Israeli leader.

People protest against Herzog’s visit to Australia at Sydney’s Hyde Park on February 1, 2026 [Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters]

Last week, a coalition of civil society groups lodged a legal complaint that urged authorities to deny Herzog a visa and open a criminal investigation under Australian law.

Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti, a member of a United Nations inquiry into rights abuses in Israel and Palestinian territory, called for Herzog’s arrest. But the Australian Federal Police ruled it out with officials citing the Israeli president’s “full immunity” on civil and criminal matters, including genocide.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the protesters to respect the solemn nature of Herzog’s trip.

“President Herzog is coming particularly to engage with members of the Jewish community who are grieving the loss of 15 innocent lives,” Albanese told reporters. “The nation needs to look towards uniting.”

But activists said the Israeli leader, whom a UN commission of inquiry has found to be responsible for inciting genocide against Palestinians, should not be immune to protests.

In September, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Herzog “incited the commission of genocide” by saying all Palestinians – “an entire nation” – were responsible for the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Since those attacks, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians with tens of thousands of bodies still believed to be trapped under the rubble and uncounted.