Pro-Palestine demonstrators will assemble in Melbourne on Thursday evening, the final day of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s four-day visit to Australia, organisers said. The planned gathering follows earlier protests in the capital, Canberra, and violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Sydney.
Herzog travelled to Australia this week after accepting an invitation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The invitation came in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people. The president has visited Sydney and Canberra as part of the trip.
The Melbourne rally has drawn particular attention from local groups that view Herzog as complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Protesters point to a United Nations Commission of Inquiry that, according to the demonstrators, concluded last year that Israel committed genocide in Gaza and found that senior Israeli officials - including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Herzog - incited those acts. Israel has described those accusations as scandalous.
Planned action and messaging
Jasmine Duff, a co-convener of Students for Palestine, which is organising a protest outside one of Melbourne’s main railway stations on Thursday evening, urged Australians to join the demonstrations. "Our message to all Australians is simple: the time to march is now. For all the Palestinians who have been killed, for all those still alive but starving," she said.
Separately, graffiti that appeared on a Melbourne University campus on Thursday calling for the death of Herzog was reported to police by the university. Authorities said there was no indication the graffiti was connected to the planned protests.
Herzog on antisemitism
Speaking in a television interview, President Herzog said there was "frightening" antisemitism in Australia. He said that while antisemitism was worrying, a silent majority of Australians sought peace, respected the Jewish community and wanted dialogue with Israel. He rejected the claim that he was involved in genocide in Gaza as a "lie," a characterization commonly voiced by protesters.
Clashes and law enforcement response
Police and protesters in Sydney clashed on Monday evening, and authorities arrested 27 people after demonstrations against Herzog’s visit turned violent. Both protesters and police accused each other of assault. In Sydney’s central business district, police ultimately used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
The demonstrations have underscored deep divisions among Australians over the president’s visit and the broader issues being protested. Organisers have continued to publicise planned events in Melbourne, while authorities have investigated threatening graffiti and prepared for further demonstrations.