Thousands took part on Monday in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Sydney during a visit to the city by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Protests against Herzog’s visit were also held in other Australian cities.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Herzog to visit following the massacre at a Hanukkah celebration in December at Bondi Beach in Sydney, in which 15 Jewish participants were killed. To secure the visit and prevent unrest, Sydney police deployed reinforced forces, with some 3,000 officers spread across the city.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration against visit by Israel's President Isaac Herzog
Sydney police blocked roads in areas Herzog was due to visit and declared certain zones “sterile.” Ahead of the pro-Palestinian rally, authorities imposed restrictions on the protest, including limits on access to specific areas and on the routes demonstrators could take. Palestine Action, the group that organized the pro-Palestinian protest, petitioned against the restrictions but failed to have them overturned.
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Police pin down a rioting protester in Sydney during viisit of Israel's President Isaac Herzog
(Photo: Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
Mounted police were seen in the protest area in Sydney, and a police helicopter circled overhead. During the demonstration, clashes broke out between police and protesters whom police said had violated the guidelines. Officers used tear gas and pepper spray, and several demonstrators were arrested.
“The Bondi massacre was horrific, but there was no acknowledgment from our Australian leadership of the Palestinian people or of Gazans,” said Jackson Elliott, 30, who attended the protest. “Herzog dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Israel-Australia relations, but he is complicit in a crime.”
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the streets of Sydney
(Photo: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Earlier in the day, Herzog took part in a ceremony at the site of the attack alongside the premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns. Herzog placed stones from Jerusalem on the memorial for the 15 victims and said: When one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain. “These stones from Jerusalem, the eternal city, the eternal capital of Israel, will remain here at Bondi for eternity, in sacred memory of the victims, and as a reminder that the bonds between good people of all faiths and nations will continue to hold strong in the face of terror, violence and hatred, and that we shall overcome this evil together!"