From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 9, 2026
Fringe anti-Zionist Australian Jewish group takes out ads against Herzog visit
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The fringe anti-Zionist Jewish Council of Australia community group runs full-page ads in Sydney and Melbourne newspapers protesting the visit of President Isaac Herzog.
The ads, endorsed with the names of 687 Australian Jews, say that: “Herzog does not speak for us and is NOT WELCOME HERE.”
“We refuse to let our collective grief be used to legitimize a leader whose rhetoric has been part of inciting a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and has contributed to the illegal annexation of the West Bank,” the council’s executive officer Sarah Schwartz says.
Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes, saying its military actions in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 massacre, are targeted at terror groups, which it accuses of using the civilian population as human shields.
Mainstream Jewish groups have welcomed the visit of Herzog, a former leader of the centrist Labor Party who now plays a largely ceremonial role.
Herzog is making the visit in the wake of the December terror shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in which 15 people were massacred by a father and son in an Islamic terrorist attack.
Thanks to your support, our full-page ad is in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Over 1,000 Jews and thousands of allies have signed our open letter to say that Israeli President Isaac Herzog is not welcome here.
Help us spread the word! pic.twitter.com/sq1k2he7rf
— Jewish Council of Australia (@jewishcouncilAU) February 9, 2026
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