Sydney, Australia, February 14, 2026 — A visit intended to offer solidarity following a deadly attack at Bondi Junction has instead ignited protests and sparked an independent investigation into allegations of police brutality. The trip by Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been marked by heightened security and a palpable sense of division.
Herzog’s Australia Visit Marred by Protests, Scrutiny
The Israeli president’s trip, meant to comfort the Jewish community after a terror attack, has been overshadowed by clashes between police and demonstrators.
- President Herzog’s visit followed a shooting at Bondi Beach on December 16, 2025, that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah celebration.
- Police are under investigation following violent clashes with protesters during Herzog’s visit.
- The trip has exposed deep divisions within the Australian Jewish community regarding Israel’s actions.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized Herzog’s role as Israel’s head of state, separate from the Netanyahu government.
What is the purpose of Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia? The Israeli president came to Australia to express sympathy and support to the Jewish community following the Bondi Beach terror attack and to foster unity, according to Prime Minister Albanese.
Albanese stated the visit was intended to offer “sympathy and solidarity to people who are mourning and offer his support to members of Australia’s Jewish community” in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack, where 15 people were killed while attending a Hanukkah celebration.
Herzog, for his part, told a gathering of Melbourne’s Jewish community that he felt buoyed by “hope” during his time in Australia. He expressed that he would return to Israel feeling empowered after “seeing first-hand the beauty in this community.”
“While we came to give strength to you, we leave with more strength. We came to give inspiration and we leave inspired and energised,” Herzog said.
While support for Herzog’s visit wasn’t universal, much of the Australian Jewish community welcomed the president. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, described the visit as a “tremendous success,” particularly for the families affected by the Bondi tragedy.
“I could see how much it meant to them. I could see some of them weeping in his arms and the arms of the first lady. It’s a sad reality that the president of Israel has probably comforted more victims of terror than anyone in the world, and it was sincere,” Ryvchin said.
“With Jewish people around the world seeing what happened in Bondi, it was extremely personal to them to feel that connection to the Jewish world.”
David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, characterized Herzog’s visit as “an important practical step towards peace.”
Herzog also emphasized a diplomatic aim, stating his intention “to bring the relations between our nations on a new beginning and a better future,” a reference to Australia’s decision last year to formally recognize the state of Palestine.
Albanese repeatedly stressed that Herzog was the Israeli head of state—equivalent to Australia’s governor general—and that any criticism should be directed at the Netanyahu government, not him personally.
Yvonne, a Jewish-Australian mother injured during the Bondi attack while shielding her two-year-old son, said Herzog’s visit “from the other side of the world” was a powerful symbol of unity and support.
“It’s really important,” she said on Monday, while using crutches. “It shows solidarity. It made us realise no matter where we are in the world we’ll still be supported … that we’re not alone.”
Jesse McNicoll, from Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney, expressed disgust that Herzog was invited to Australia.
“It was always going to be very divisive. It was always going to create serious angst in the Palestinian and … Arab communities that are our brothers and sisters. It’s also created a really dangerous idea in people’s minds – actually an antisemitic trope – that Jews have dual loyalty to Israel,” McNicoll said.
McNicoll added that many Jews in Australia oppose the actions of the Israeli state but fear ostracization if they speak out.
“It saddens me that a lot of people in the Jewish community are [engaging in] what people sometimes describe as intra-communal violence, where people who are really staunchly pro-Israel are really vilifying Jewish people who are not.
“In a way that’s brought people who are really concerned about what Israel is doing together. That’s created a really strong sense of community among Jews who don’t want to be defined by the atrocities that Israel is committing.”
The visit has even caused rifts within Jewish families. Sarah, who requested anonymity to avoid upsetting her parents, described the divide.
“My parents and I are at the opposite extreme. They were at the Herzog event at the [International Convention Centre] while I was at the protest.
“They call the Palestine Justice Movement ‘hate marches’. They’re adamant those are antisemitic. The way I see it, they’re … unable to look at any of the facts because they’re so deeply invested in propaganda.”
Sarah said she has been labeled a “self-hating Jew” by former friends and criticized for not raising her children Jewish.
“I feel grateful to be able to go to protests against the war in Gaza. The genocide continues. I feel grateful for the welcome that everybody there gives the Jews who are there.”
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