Hundreds gather in Sydney to urge cancellation of Israeli president’s visit

Hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered to protest the planned visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday evening in Australia’s Sydney.

Video footage shared showed scores of people waving the Palestinian flag at the snap rally.

Dozens of police were deployed to the march, with many demonstrators also protesting against tougher laws which are set to heavily restrict public assembly in the wake of the December Bondi Beach attack, where 15 people were killed and dozens more injured amid the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

The protest on Friday saw around 300 people condemn the Australian government's welcoming of Herzog, due to Israeli crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s war on Gaza, launched in October 2023, has killed over 70,000 people, levelled entire neighbourhoods and displaced much of the population. The war has been determined to be a genocide by leading rights groups. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have carried out sweeping arrests in the occupied West Bank since 2023, against the backdrop of increased settler attacks .

Herzog - considered a liberal in Israel - has himself been accused of inciting genocide against Palestinians, saying in an October 2023 speech that it is "an entire nation out there that is responsible", in reference to the Hamas-led attack on Israel. Herzog's words were cited by South Africa in its genocide filing against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

A spokesperson and activist from Jews Against the Occupation, Jepke Goudsmit, addressed the crowd on Friday and said Australia’s leaders welcoming Herzog was “buckling into Zionist pressure”.

Goudsmit added that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was “betraying multicultural Australia” and explained that much of the population disagreed with the decision to welcome Herzog as well as Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.

“By inviting Herzog to our shores, Albanese is betraying them and all of multicultural Australia that are standing up for Israel's innumerable victims,” Goudsmit added. Despite a ceasefire agreed in October, Israel has been killing Palestinians and demolishing infrastructure on an almost daily basis, with hundreds killed since then.

Israel has also continued to stifle the enclave by heavily restricting aid, resulting in the death of civilians due to the cold and lack of medical care.

One protester, Julie Macken, told Australian media that they hope the protest would trigger Albanese to reconsider the invitation.

“My hope would be that the Prime Minister who has said he is concerned about social and healing division would think long and heart about inviting a war criminal to Australia,” Macken said, adding if not, it would be “hurtful” to many Australians.

Hundreds gathered at Sydney Town Hall for a protest co-hosted by Jews Against the Occupation ’48, calling on the Labor Government to cancel the upcoming visit by Israeli occupation's President Isaac Herzog to the country. pic.twitter.com/y54Mat5akg

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 17, 2026

Another protester at the rally emphasised that it was wrong to draw any connections between the Bondi terror attack and pro-Palestine rallies.

“They’re [protestors] pointing to is Israel, the state of Israel being a terrorist state, being an occupier, committing genocide in Gaza, which the whole world knows is happening. So where is the connection between what happened in Bondi,” Matte Rochford, 43, told Australian media.

While Herzog’s planned visit does not yet have a set date, it has generated significant controversy.

Pro-Palestine groups said if it goes ahead, it would be “grave moral failure”, however Albanese appeared to defend the invitation, saying it was “appropriate protocol” in the aftermath of the Bondi attack, which was believed to be anti-Semitic.

Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong also defended the visit, calling a “good thing”, but added, “I’ll leave that for the Prime Minister to announce”.