Brutal scenes in Sydney as Herzog arrives

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 9/2/2026

ISAAC Herzog, President of the Israeli regime, has arrived in New South Wales amid protests and condemnations from Jewish groups, anti-Zionist groups, and anti-genocide groups.

The 'Israeli' President was invited by the Labor government following the Bondi terrorist attack in an extreme case of failure to read the room by that administration, and this invitation has been condemned by several organisations, including the Jewish Council of Australia.

Anti-Genocide organisations, led by the Palestine Action Group in Sydney, organised nationwide protests against the arrival of the criminal Herzog, as the right-wing Minns government of New South Wales scrambled to ensure their police would have as much power as possible to combat the peaceful protestors rallying to remind the government of their duty to prevent a genocide when it occurs.

At the beginning of the day, a sole protestor with a sign was moved on at Sydney Airport by the Australian Federal Police, who claimed to be acting on behalf of the privately-owned Sydney Airport Corporation.

Following this, after Herzog arrived in Sydney, he repeatedly insulted the Palestine movement, and repeated the lie that the Palestine movement is somehow responsible for the Bondi attack. Large protests, scheduled in the week beforehand, then began, before being forced to defend themselves in Sydney against an extremely violent and dangerous New South Wales Police. The protests were entirely peaceful until the arrival of NSW Police, and protests in other cities, including Naarm/Melbourne were conducted entirely peacefully.

The entire Central Business District in Sydney was shut down almost entirely for the welcoming of the leader of the ethnostate, with Premier Chris Minns telling Sydneysiders to "avoid" the CBD during the visit.

Mr Herzog's visit was, according to the government, aimed at helping to support the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack which saw 15 people tragically die. This could not be further from the truth. Prominent Jewish groups, such as the Jewish Council of Australia, actively campaigned against the visit, and hundreds of Jewish Australians signed a Jewish Council petition to have the invitation rescinded. This visit, if it cannot be justified as supporting the community, cannot be justified at all.

Mr Herzog has previously stated that 'an entire nation' is responsible for the 7 October attack, and that Israel must act accordingly. This is an outwardly, openly genocidal statement, and it, alongside several other statements by the individual, is grounds for a charge of incitement to genocide, according to a UN inquiry.