Australian police crack down on protests during Israeli president’s visit
Australian police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters, beat demonstrators and used pepper spray during mass rallies in Sydney opposing the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Thousands gathered at Sydney Town Hall, where police blocked protesters from marching along routes near the Herzog's movements, ordering them to disperse and warning that any march would be considered unlawful.
At least 27 people were arrested as officers used pepper spray on crowds chanting “let us march” and beating drums while attempting to move toward the New South Wales Parliament.
Scuffles broke out when officers moved to prevent protesters from passing police barricades.
In October 2023, following the Hamas attacks on southern Israel, Herzog said of the Palestinian population in Gaza: “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true.”
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The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory later condemned the Israeli president's remarks as constituting incitement to genocide.
'Herzog’s visit causes fear'
Anthony D’Adam, a Labor member of parliament who witnessed the confrontation on the street, said he saw officers punching demonstrators and throwing one person to the ground.
He told The Guardian Australia that an officer pushed a bicycle into a woman, injuring her, and that another officer then shoved her into the surrounding crowd.
“It just seemed totally over-the-top in terms of the police reaction,” D’Adam said.
Authorities had designated the area between Sydney Town Hall and the parliament as a restricted security zone during Herzog’s visit, leaving demonstrators facing arrest if they joined the planned march.
A Sydney court rejected a legal challenge filed by the Palestine Action Group seeking to overturn the protest restrictions.
Police also arrested a protester who shouted “shame” as Herzog left Bondi Pavilion, invoking the Major Events Act, legislation that activists are contesting in the Supreme Court.
“What I said was a completely natural response to what is going on,” the man told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Herzog’s visit causes fear. He is the agitator… I want to be on the right side of history.”
Herzog began his four-day visit at Bondi Beach, where he laid a wreath at a memorial marking the December attack that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah celebration.
He also met survivors and relatives of those killed before continuing his visit to Melbourne and Canberra, where authorities planned heavy security deployments, including thousands of police officers.
Since 7 October 2023, Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, with thousands more believed to remain buried beneath rubble.
More than 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders signed an open letter released on Monday by the Jewish Council of Australia urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to withdraw Herzog’s invitation, arguing that hosting the Israeli president undermines Australia’s commitment to international law and human rights.
“We refuse to let our grief for the Bondi massacre be used to legitimise a leader who has played an active role in the ongoing destruction of Gaza, including the murder of tens of thousands of Palestinians, and the displacement of millions,” the letter read.
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