From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 9, 2026
Thousands protest across Australia against Herzog visit
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Thousands gather across Australia to protest the arrival of President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community after a deadly mass shooting last year.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.
The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine, anti-Israel groups have organized protests in cities and towns across the country.
In Sydney, thousands gathered in a square in the city’s central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. There was a heavy police presence with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback.
“The Bondi massacre was terrible but from our Australian leadership there’s been no acknowledgment of the Palestinian people and the Gazans,” said Jackson Elliott, a 30-year-old protestor from Sydney.
“Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations but he is complicit.”
Herzog has a largely ceremonial role.
Israel denies accusations of 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.
The Times of Israel Community.