Protests urged against Israeli president's visit to Australia

Isaac Herzog is said to be in Sydney on February 9 and Melbourne on February 12

Anti-genocide advocates are urging Australians to protest the upcoming visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Herzog is scheduled to visit Australia between February 8 and 12 after the Albanese government formally invited the Israeli leader on December 24.

Planning information seen by Deepcut reveals the Israeli president is to appear at an event in Sydney on February 9 and Melbourne on February 12.

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According to the information, obtained through a source who wished to remain anonymous due to the highly sensitive nature of the matter, Herzog is to feature in an “Evening of Light and Solidarity” in both cities.

The information suggests the International Convention & Exhibition Centre was considered as an option for the Sydney event, with the events in both cities being organised by Fourth Wall – a creative agency with an office in Sydney.

Comment has been sought from Fourth Wall and the International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Herzog found to have incited genocide

Herzog’s visit has enraged Australians opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza, which a UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 constituted genocide.

Israeli forces have slaughtered at least 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, with the actual death toll said to be much higher. Israel continues to occupy 58% of the Gaza Strip and has killed 488 Palestinians since a ceasefire went into effect on October 10, 2025. More than half of those killed since the ceasefire are children, women and the elderly, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

In its investigation, the UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Herzog, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, “have incited the commission of genocide”.

The Commission pointed to a statement by Herzog on October 13, 2023, in which he said with regards to the October 7 Hamas attack: “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It is absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état.”

These comments implied, according to the Commission, that all Palestinians in Gaza were “equally responsible” for the Hamas attack.

“Notably, the slogan that ‘there are no uninvolved’ in Gaza was subsequently proclaimed by soldiers deployed to Gaza and echoed in several public places,” the Commission’s report said.

Calls for protest

For Nasser Mashni, head of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), Herzog’s visit is a defining moment for Australia.

“By welcoming Herzog, Australia’s political elite is siding with genocide. This is no longer just a fight about Palestine, this is a fight about who we are as a country, as a people and who we want to be,” he told Deepcut.

The APAN president is urging Australians to protest Herzog’s visit “to send a powerful message to our politicians, that their version of who we are as a nation - of turning a blind eye to genocide - is not who we are!”

“For every Australian who says they believe in democracy, in human rights, in a fair go, in free speech, then you simply must protest Herzog’s visit.”

Progressive Jewish groups have also openly opposed Herzog’s visit, and are now preparing to protest.

“This visit is not about Jewish safety. As a moral and social issue, we are primarily concerned about the safety of Palestinians, and their supporters here, who have born the brunt of Herzog and Israel’s genocidal racism,” Jordy Silverstein, a member of Loud Jew Collective, said.

Jasmine Duff, the national co-convenor for Students for Palestine, said protests have been called in Melbourne and Sydney this Sunday, February 1, with nationwide marches planned “during the week that he is here”.

“We will flood the streets in cities and towns across the country carrying photos of the children his government has murdered, photos of the schools and hospitals his government has bombed, and photos of the journalists his government has deliberately targeted and killed,” she said.