On local time, 9, Israeli President Herzog began a four-day state visit to Australia in Sydney to mourn the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting. According to him, the visit included both mourning for the deceased and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as conveying messages of friendship between the two countries and efforts to restore bilateral relations to normal. However, Australian society‘s attitude towards Herzog‘s visit is polarized. Supporters believe that the visit will boost morale in the local Jewish community and help to recalibrate the tense relations between the two countries. Opponents, on the other hand, held protests in about 30 cities across Australia on the 9th.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on the 9th, Herzog arrived in Sydney that morning and went to the Bondi Pavilion under tight police protection to offer wreaths and stones in tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting on December 14 last year. “These stones from Jerusalem will forever remain in Bondi as a sacred memorial to the victims,” he said during his speech in the rain. Herzog urged people to condemn anti-Semitism when it is discovered. “Australian anti-Semitism is not a Jewish problem, but an Australian problem and a global problem,” he said.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that over the next few days, Herzog will visit Jewish communities across Australia, attend important community events with Jewish community leaders and meet with several senior politicians. Rifkin, co-CEO of the Australian Jewish Executive Council, said Herzog‘s visit “will lift the morale of a suffering community” and that “the President knows how to comfort and inspire our community in the darkest moments.”
Rifkin also said he hoped Herzog’s visit “will facilitate the necessary bilateral readjustment between the two historic allies.” Herzog’s visit came at a time when bilateral relations between Israel and Australia were unusually tense, the Washington Post said on the 9th. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, posted on social media hours after the Bondi Beach shooting to accuse Albanese of “calling for the State of Palestine, which undoubtedly fuels anti-Semitic sentiment.” After Australia recognized the State of Palestine in August last year, Benjamin Netanyahu described Albanese as a “weak politician” who “betrayed Israel.”
The Israeli newspaper The Land said on the 9th that Herzog‘s visit was an invitation from the Governor-General of Australia, the prime minister and the Jewish community to express support for the Jews of Australia and strengthen bilateral relations. But the Israeli Times reported on the 9th that the visit provoked widespread opposition in Australia. “There will be a national protest today calling for the arrest of Herzog, who has been identified by the United Nations Commission of Investigation as instigating the genocide in Gaza,” the Palestinian Action Organization said in a statement on the 9th. However, the Australian police have ruled out the possibility of his arrest.
Anti-Israeli groups are not the only ones opposed to Herzog‘s visit. The Australian Jewish Council said he was not welcome because he was suspected of participating in “continuous destruction of Gaza.” More than 1,000 Australian Jews signed an open letter saying that “to still welcome Herzog‘s visit after the Bondi Beach shooting incident is a betrayal of the Jewish community, multicultural Australia, and all those who support Palestinian human rights and international law.” The letter was published as a full-page advertisement in the Australian Times and Sydney Morning Herald on September.
New Zealand‘s Asia-Pacific Report website reported on the 9th that hundreds of thousands of people are expected to hold protest marches in 30 cities across Australia, including all state capitals, on the same day. The Guardian earlier on the 9th reported that thousands of people had already gathered outside Sydney Town Hall. The Australian News Network said on the 9th that Sydney has now deployed thousands of police officers throughout the city. Governor Mings of New South Wales said on the 9th: “We need to ensure that there will be no conflict on the streets of Sydney. If there is, it will send a terrible signal to the rest of the world and the rest of the country.” Australian police said they would also adopt stricter security measures during Herzog‘s visits to Melbourne and Canberra.
According to The Australian on the 9th, Herzog expressed a “simple but highly destructive” view on the possible protests during his visit to Australia. “In most cases, the demonstrations you see and hear are aimed at undermining and denying the most basic survival rights of our country and my people,” he said. “This behavior is contrary to what Australia has said and done in the past.”
According to the British Guardian, on the 9th, Australian Senator Lydia Thorpe told protesters in Melbourne: “We have all witnessed with our own eyes the famine and mass slaughter in Gaza. Yet we are asked to maintain respect for the killers.” Another Senator, Mehryn Farucci, waved handcuffs and said Herzog “should have been arrested as soon as he set foot on this land.” She said: “I never dreamed we would have fallen so low. The Albanian government has lost our respect.”
The British Guardian reported on the 9th that the protests escalated to violence. In Melbourne, some protesters were dragged away by police. In Sydney, police clashed with protesters, pepper spray was sprayed on protesters, and at least 15 people were arrested by police. Australian MP Anthony D‘Adam said he saw police knocking protesters to the ground, and police on motorcycles crashing into protesters, “the police‘s reaction seems completely excessive.”