Protests in Sydney against Herzog’s visit turn violent amid scuffles with police

Authorities said to arrest at least 15 protesters, pepper spray others at rally; activists also march in Melbourne, chanting, ‘From the river to the sea, Herzog to the ICC’

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week at the invitation of 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 organized protests in cities and towns across the country on Monday evening.

In Sydney, thousands gathered in a square in the city’s central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestine, anti-Israel slogans. The rally later turned violent as police hit protesters and members of the media, including AFP, with pepper spray.

An AFP journalist said they saw at least 15 protesters being arrested and scuffling with police.

Crowds also gathered in the center of Melbourne demanding an end to Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinian territories.

Protesters held signs declaring “War Criminals Not Welcome Here” and “From the river to the sea, Herzog to the ICC,” calling on Albanese to arrest the visiting president.

“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.”

There was a heavy police presence in Sydney, with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback.

Police used pepper spray and tear gas to push back groups of people who were trying to breach the line and march ahead. Several protesters were arrested as they clashed with police.

Authorities in Sydney declared Herzog’s visit a major event and were authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.

On Monday in the New South Wales Supreme Court, the Palestine Action Group — which organized the protest — failed in its attempt to legally challenge the restrictions on the demonstration.

Albanese had urged people to be respectful of the reason for Herzog’s visit, saying he would join the president to meet with the families of those killed at Bondi Beach.

The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found last year that Herzog was liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians — “an entire nation” — were responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel.

Israel has “categorically” rejected the inquiry’s report, describing it as “distorted and false” and calling for the body’s abolition.

Herzog said at the outset of his visit that he had “come here in good will.”

He accused protesters of seeking to “undermine and delegitimize” Israel’s right to exist.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.