The Albany Gazette - Israeli president to honour Bondi Beach attack victims on Australia visit

While the head of state seeks to console the Jewish Australian community, his four-day trip has also sparked calls for pro-Palestinian protests in Sydney's streets, where the authorities promised a large police presence.

Palestinian Action Group activists have organised a rally in central Sydney for late afternoon Monday to protest against Israel's alleged "genocide" in Gaza and to demand Herzog's arrest for allegedly inciting genocide.

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 on October 7, 2023.

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

Australia's federal police have ruled out an arrest of the president, with senior officials telling lawmakers in parliament that Herzog had "full immunity" covering civil and criminal matters, including genocide.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people had a right to protest, but he urged them to be respectful of the families of those killed in the December 14 armed assault on crowds at a celebration of Hanukkah.

- 'Lives that were stolen' -

"I along with President Herzog will meet with families of those victims, those innocent lives that were stolen," Albanese told reporters at the weekend.

"They were husbands, fathers, daughters, sisters, friends, loved ones," he added.

"In Australia, I think people want innocent lives to be protected, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian, but they want something else as well -- they don't want conflict brought here."

Police said Sunday they would deploy an "extremely large" force for the pro-Palestinian rally.

Protest organisers had rejected a police request to move the demonstration from outside the city centre's Town Hall to a nearby park because of concerns about the limited size of the venue, said New South Wales acting assistant commissioner Paul Dunstan.

But the activists nevertheless stressed to police that they wanted a "peaceful and safe protest", he told a news conference.

State authorities have declared the Sydney visit to be a "major event", a designation that allows police to separate different groups to reduce the risk of confrontation.

Few other details have been released about Herzog's schedule, as is customary because of security concerns.

- Antisemitism -

The Israeli head of state's office has said he will "express solidarity and offer strength" when he visits bereaved families and Jewish communities across Australia while noting a "recent rise in antisemitism in the country".

Critics have accused Albanese's centre-left Labor Party government of moving too slowly to protect Jewish Australians despite a string of antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.

Alleged Bondi Beach shooter Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack.

An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.

His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.

Among the victims were an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who confronted one of the gunmen, and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, who was described at her funeral as a "ray of sunshine".

Many Jewish Australians have welcomed Herzog's trip.

"His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community," said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community's peak body.

But some in the Jewish community disagreed, with the progressive Jewish Council of Australia saying he is not welcome because of his alleged role in the "ongoing destruction of Gaza".

(L.Thomas--TAG)