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Monday, January 19, 2026
Herzog to visit Sydney next month following deadly terror attack at Bondi Hanukkah event – source
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
President Isaac Herzog will visit Sydney, Australia, on February 7, a source tells The Times of Israel, confirming earlier reports in Hebrew media.
Herzog accepted an invitation weeks ago from Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to visit the country and its Jewish community following last month’s shooting attack at Bondi Beach, during which two terrorists killed 15 people in an Islamic State-inspired attack targeting a Hanukkah event.
The visit goes ahead despite calls from members of Albanese’s Australian Labor party to rescind his invitation to Herzog, accusing him of being complicit in alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza.
Israel denies all accusations that it has broken international law in its military campaign in Gaza, and Herzog, as president, has no role in legislation or policy relating to the war.
The campaign against his visit was joined by number of left-wing Jewish groups, who argued that there would be “mass protests… [including] a very large contingent of Jewish participants” if Herzog visited Australia.
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