Israeli president visit confirmed, sparking expectations of mass protests

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will travel to Australia early next month on a five-day trip that has already inflamed divisions within Labor over antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Herzog’s trip, which will begin on February 8, has been welcomed by Jewish community leaders but opposed by pro-Palestine advocates, including in Labor’s rank-and-file.

Pro-Palestine activists in Sydney and Melbourne have been preparing protest actions in anticipation of Herzog’s visit to voice their opposition to Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza and settlement building in the West Bank.

A statement from Herzog’s office issued early on Wednesday said he will lead a delegation including the chair of the World Zionist Organisation Yaakov Hagoel and Jewish Agency chair Doron Almog.

“President Herzog will visit Jewish communities across Australia to express solidarity and offer strength to the community in the aftermath of the attack,” the statement said.

“A central part of the visit will be dedicated to official meetings with senior Australian leaders, including the governor-general and the prime minister of Australia, as well as with leaders from across the political spectrum.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Herzog to visit Australia after 15 people were killed and dozens injured at a Hanukkah event in Bondi in December.

Jewish Labor, a group set up to tackle antisemitism within the labour movement, wrote an open letter to MPs on Wednesday urging them to support the visit, which they said would be a healing moment for many in the Jewish community.

“President Herzog is not a symbol of extremism,” the group’s letter said. “He is not a firebrand. He is not a representative of hatred or rejectionism. He is a former leader of the Israeli Labor Party, and a man who has spent much of his public life in dialogue with Palestinian leaders and in pursuit of coexistence. He is, in the truest sense, a bridge-builder.”

By contrast, the Labor Friends of Palestine group wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke urging him to refuse to grant Herzog a visa on character grounds.

Labor Friends of Palestine co-convener Peter Moss said the invitation to Herzog “makes a mockery of all the fine words about hate speech, social cohesion, unity and healing”.

“Isaac Herzog is a divisive, inflammatory figure whose statements have been cited by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry as allegedly inciting genocide,” Moss said.

“He signed a bomb that was due to be dropped on Palestinians in Gaza. He rejects a Palestinian state and therefore any path to peace with justice.”

Labor Friends of Palestine and the Australian Centre for International Justice have urged the Australian Federal Police to launch a war crimes investigation into Herzog when he visits the country.

Herzog’s largely ceremonial position of president is similar to that of Australia’s governor-general and he does not have direct influence in government decision-making on military affairs.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said she was disappointed some Labor and union figures plan to protest Herzog’s visit.

“President Herzog is a democratic head of state, a long-standing advocate for dialogue and coexistence, and a leader who has consistently engaged in efforts to advance peace,” she said.

“Welcoming him to Australia is entirely consistent with our national values of democracy, respect and open engagement.”

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said: “By welcoming Herzog, Australia’s political elite is siding with genocide ... For every Australian who says they believe in democracy, human rights, a fair go, free speech, then you simply must protest Herzog’s visit.”

While parliament is sitting in Canberra during Herzog’s visit, there is no indication he will make an address.

The progressive Jewish Council of Australia said Herzog’s visit was “completely inappropriate”.

“Inviting a foreign head of state who is implicated in an ongoing genocide as a representative of the Jewish community is deeply offensive and risks entrenching the dangerous and antisemitic conflation between Jewish identity and the actions of the Israeli state,” executive officer Sarah Schwartz said.

“This does not make Jews safer. It does the opposite.”

The International Court of Justice cited comments by Herzog when it found Palestinians have plausible rights under the Genocide Convention.

Herzog’s comment that there is “an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the October 7 attacks has been widely cited as justifying civilian deaths in Gaza, but he has insisted his words have been taken out of context.

Herzog accused the ICJ of ignoring other comments in which he said “there is no excuse” for killing innocent civilians.

Mike Kelly, the co-convenor of Labor Friends of Israel, has said calls for Herzog to be investigated over alleged war crimes and be disinvited were “ridiculous”.

“This is part of the relentless demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel,” he said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler has commended Albanese for inviting Herzog to Australia, saying: “The visit will bring immense comfort to the Australian Jewish community and allow President Herzog to convey condolences to all Australians for the worst terror attack in Australian history.”

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