Protests surround last day of Israeli president’s controversial visit to Australia

Israeli president Isaac Herzog wrapped up his four-day trip to Australia on Thursday amid large demonstrations in Melbourne and heightened security measures.

At least 10,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Flinders Street Station for a rally and demanded Mr Herzog’s arrest. The massive demonstration blocked trams and traffic in the Central Business District around 5.00pm local time, according to local media reports.

Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, carried placards calling for Mr Herzog’s arrest and accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – an allegation Israel denies.

Speakers at the rally criticised Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese for inviting the Israeli head of state, arguing the visit granted legitimacy to Israel’s military campaign.

Protesters chanted “free, free Palestine” and “death to the IDF” as others played drums and tambourines, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Victorian Greens MP Gabrielle De Vietri told the crowd Mr Herzog should never have been welcomed, saying: “What is going on when the government is rolling out the red carpet for a member of a government that is committing genocide?”

She said Australia, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, had a duty to act against genocide and that authorities should detain figures such as Mr Herzog upon entering the country.

“That is the normal thing to do, that is the right thing to do,” the Richmond MP said.

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“At a time when social cohesion … is needed more than ever, Herzog’s visiting Melbourne just stokes the fire.”

Police maintained a heavy presence across the city as the president attended a Jewish community event in Melbourne’s Southbank.

Mr Herzog told the gathering: “We came here to be with you, to look you in the eye, to embrace and remember.

“I must tell you that we return to Israel feeling empowered because we have seen first-hand the beauty and resilience of this community,” he said, adding that “hope was in the air”.

However, the president said it was odd that so many police were needed to protect him from harassment while speaking in public.

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Mr Herzog offered a blunt message to protesters camped outside the Southbank venue where he made his final stop on his Australian trip.

“Go protest in front of the Iranian embassy,” he said, saying that Tehran had killed tens of thousands of its own citizens during protests there.

Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi was expelled in August last year after authorities said Iran had orchestrated the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue and a blaze at Lewis Continental Kitchen in Bondi on 20 October 2024.

Melbourne’s police were granted special powers under counter-terrorism legislation on Thursday, allowing officers to search people and vehicles in designated areas.

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Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said there was no specific threat but described the measures as a precaution.

“Victoria Police has been granted those powers that afford us, in specified areas, to seek the identities of individuals passing through that location, to search individuals, to search vehicles, and cordon-off a particular area,” Mr Hill said.

“It’s specific to areas he (the Israeli president) will visit, and it will not directly relate to or impact upon the lawful protest activity that may occur here in Melbourne (Thursday) evening.”

At the demonstration in Melbourne’s CBD there were calls for Mr Herzog’s arrest, and protesters described him as a “war criminal” – an accusation denied by Israel and the Israeli president. He called the accusations against him a “libellous lie” and said Israel was confronting a wave of misinformation.

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“That’s part of the whole circumstances of our lives, meaning enormous brainwashing with a lot of lies and blasphemy, which has no basis,” he said.

Mr Herzog said he “(cares) for the pain of the Palestinians” but “terror cannot reign in the world”.

“My message to the leadership of Australia: Terror is unacceptable, and the terror emanates from a coalition of terror based in Tehran, with proxies all over the Middle East who have attacked us in this war,” he said.

At the protest, Palestinian activist Muayad Ali told the crowd: “This is not f***ing diplomacy. This is normalisation of genocide.

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“When you invite a representative of the Zionist regime, you send a message that Australia is willing to shake hands stained with the blood of children killed in Gaza.”

Earlier in the week, police made at least 27 arrests amid allegations of excessive force used against protesters and rights groups in Sydney. Violence broke out on the evening of 9 February after thousands of people gathered near Sydney Town Hall to oppose Mr Herzog’s visit.

The Israeli president’s trip, which included earlier stops in Sydney and Canberra, was organised in part to show support for Australia’s Jewish community after the Bondi Beach terror attack. Mr Herzog began his visit by commemorating the victims of the December attack at a Jewish festival, where 15 people were killed. It was Australia’s worst mass shooting in 29 years.

Mr Herzog’s visit has drawn mixed reactions from within Australia’s Jewish community. A number of mainstream organisations welcomed Mr Herzog’s presence, while the Jewish Council of Australia published open letters and newspaper advertisements signed by hundreds of Australian Jews stating: “Herzog does not speak for us and is NOT WELCOME HERE.”

“We refuse to let our collective grief be used to legitimise 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,” said the council’s executive officer Sarah Schwartz.