Israeli President Issac Herzog declares Australia a ‘serious partner’ in fight against hatred
Israeli President Isaac Herzog declared Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government “serious partners” in the global fight against antisemitism as he returned to Jerusalem after a four-day official visit to Australia held in the shadow of the Bondi massacre.
Herzog’s comments at a Jewish community event in Melbourne on the last day of his trip to Australia stand in stark contrast to the fury unleashed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi terror attack, accusing Albanese of doing nothing to stop growing hatred against Jews.
“All discussions with Australian leadership were conducted with candor, open-mindedness and mutual respect,” Herzog said.
“I found serious partners willing to have serious conversations and directly address disgusting rhetoric, misinformation, and shameful anti-Semitism.”
Speaking at the same event, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to continue supporting the Jewish community in the face of growing hatred.
“The true measure of any great nation is whether people feel safe enough to do their best and whether they feel free enough to contribute fully,” he said. “Australia has offered this promise to the Jewish community for generations, and we must continue this for generations to come.”
Herzog’s comments indicate that the foundations of the Australia-Israel relationship remain solid, despite significant policy differences between the Albanian and Netanyahu governments over recognition of Palestine, West Bank settlement expansion and the conduct of the war in Gaza.
Herzog and Albanese held bilateral talks in Canberra and shared an intimate dinner at Kirribilli House earlier in the week, where they were joined by partners Michal Herzog and Jodie Haydon.
Albanese said he raised Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, who was killed in an IDF missile attack in Gaza, in relation to the president and Israel’s plans to accelerate the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
In Melbourne on Thursday, Herzog met Allan and Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson at an official reception at Government House before attending a community event at a Southbank convention centre. The president canceled a planned visit to the Adass Israel Synagogue, which was destroyed by arsonists in December 2024, due to security concerns.
Herzog, who came to Australia to offer comfort and support to people dealing with the trauma of Bondi and other anti-Semitic attacks, said he would leave strengthened by the resilience of the Jewish community.
“I feel like hope is in the air,” he said. “We came here to be with you, to look into your eyes, to embrace, to remember together, to cry together, and we cried.
“And yet I must say we returned to Israel feeling empowered because we saw first-hand the beauty, resilience and importance of this community to all well-intentioned Australians.”
This builds on conciliatory comments Herzog told Seven’s earlier in the day. Sunrise While the rise of antisemitism is frightening, the program argues that a “silent majority of Australians” respect the Jewish community and want continued dialogue with Israel.
The president delivered a snide rebuke to anti-Israel protesters gathered beyond a tight security perimeter outside the Southbank building. “Go protest in front of the Iranian embassy,” he told the community event.
“To me, it’s unclear and strange that we have so many incredible police officers protecting us and that we have the right to come together here as proud Jews and host the president of the only Jewish state in the world without any harassment or disturbance.”
Extensive security arrangements for the event meant that the 1,500 people in attendance, including Jewish community leaders, businessmen, rabbis and schoolchildren arriving by bus from Mount Scopus College and Bialik College, had to undergo multiple checks before entering the auditorium.
The location of the chosen venue was not revealed to guests until the morning of the event, as it was outside the CBD and away from the usual protest areas. Outside, police erected a temporary steel fence as a security wall, while police helicopters hovered overhead and mounted police stood by.
East Melbourne Synagogue rabbi Dovid Gutnick, who was the target of an arsonist, also said this should not become a new normal for Australian Jews.
“It’s very disappointing that it’s come to this,” Herzog told this imprint shortly before taking the stage. “Jewish people came to an event to show solidarity with the Bondi community at a time of tremendous loss and pain. The Jewish community says the president’s presence is meaningful. I think it’s a new despicable thing for people to come out and protest this.”
“The fact that we have to attend a Jewish event held in a castle here in Australia is very significant for our future.”
Zionist campaigner Mark Leibler, Executive Council of Australian Jews president Daniel Aghion, businessman and philanthropist John Gandel, Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon and Liberal deputy leader David Southwick were among the VIPs seated at the front of the large auditorium.
Herzog and the other speakers, including ZFA president Jeremy Leibler, Bondi survivor Chavi Block-Israel, Allan and Wilson, each made a point of addressing the hundreds of schoolchildren at the back of the room directly.
Leibler urged them to go to Israel as “the only place where Jewish history ceases to be something that happens to us and becomes something for which we are responsible.”
Wilson said young Jews “should never have to hide your identity, silence your voice, put away your Star of David necklace, or bear the burden of explaining or defending who you are.”
Block-Israel was more blunt: “What they want is for the Jew to disappear, for Israel to disappear, but we are not going anywhere.”
Start your day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He had previously served as the newspaper’s chief correspondent and was a journalist with 30 years of experience.Connect via email.
