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January 28, 2026 — 11:28am
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will depart for Australia on February 8 for a five-day trip to meet with senior Australian politicians and survivors of the Bondi Beach massacre.
Herzog’s visit has been welcomed by Jewish community leaders but opposed by pro-Palestine advocates, including in Labor’s rank-and-file.
Pro-Palestine activists in Sydney and Melbourne have already been preparing protest actions in anticipation of Herzog’s visit to oppose Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza and settlement building in the West Bank.
A statement from Herzog’s office issued early on Wednesday said he will lead a delegation including the chair of the World Zionist Organisation Yaakov Hagoel and Jewish Agency chair Doron Almog.
“President Herzog will visit Jewish communities across Australia to express solidarity and offer strength to the community in the aftermath of the attack,” the statement said.
“A central part of the visit will be dedicated to official meetings with senior Australian leaders, including the governor-general and the prime minister of Australia, as well as with leaders from across the political spectrum.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Herzog to visit Australia after 15 people were killed and dozens injured at a Hanukkah event in Bondi in December.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler has commended Albanese for inviting Herzog, saying: “The visit will bring immense comfort to the Australian Jewish community and allow President Herzog to convey condolences to all Australians for the worst terror attack in Australian history.
“Prime Minister Albanese’s invitation reflects that, while there are clear differences on policy, you can still celebrate the shared values and long history between Australia and Israel.”
Labor Friends of Palestine and the Australian Centre for International Justice have urged the Australian Federal Police to launch a war crimes investigation into Herzog when he visits the country.
Herzog’s largely ceremonial position of president is similar to that of Australia’s governor-general and he does not have direct influence in government decision-making on military affairs.
When Albanese announced he was inviting Herzog to Australia, the Palestine Advocacy Network said the move “represents a grave moral failure and a direct insult to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have spent more than two years protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians and demanding accountability under international law”.
While parliament is sitting in Canberra during Herzog’s visit, there is no indication he will make an address.
The progressive Jewish Council of Australia said Herzog’s visit was “completely inappropriate” and would result in divisive mass protests.
“By inviting Herzog to visit, Albanese is using Jewish grief as a political prop and diplomatic backdrop,” executive officer Sarah Schwartz said.
“Inviting a foreign head of state who is implicated in an ongoing genocide as a representative of the Jewish community is deeply offensive and risks entrenching the dangerous and antisemitic conflation between Jewish identity and the actions of the Israeli state. This does not make Jews safer. It does the opposite.”
The International Court of Justice cited comments by Herzog when it found Palestinians have plausible rights under the Genocide Convention.
Herzog’s comment that there is “an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the October 7 attacks has been widely cited as justifying civilian deaths in Gaza, but he has insisted his words have been taken out of context.
Herzog accused the ICJ of ignoring other comments in which he said “there is no excuse” for killing innocent civilians and that Israel would respect international laws of war.
Herzog previously led the left-wing Israeli Labor Party and was a leading political opponent of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mike Kelly, the co-convenor of Labor Friends of Israel, has said calls for Herzog to be investigated over alleged war crimes and be uninvited from Australia were “ridiculous”.
“This is part of the relentless demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel,” he said.
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