Under heavy security and amid pro-Palestinian protests, President Isaac Herzog began his visit to Australia Monday with a ceremony at the site of the attack that took place last Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The event was attended by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
Herzog placed stones brought from Jerusalem on the memorial for the 15 victims. "In Jewish tradition, we place stones on graves to represent the endurance of memory, the weight of loss, and the unbreakable bond between the living and those we have lost," Herzog said. "When one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain."
President Isaac Herzog's visit to the memorial site for the victims of the Bondi Beach attack
(Video: Yair Kraus)
“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!"
President Herzog at the memorial site in Sydney:
He added that: "These vile terrorists specifically and deliberately targeted our dear sisters and brothers, Australian Jews. Yet, this was also an attack on all Australians. They attacked the values that our democracies treasure. This is how terror operates all around the world, and, sadly, Israel has faced this deadly threat for many decades.”
The visit by President Herzog and his wife, Michal, comes against the backdrop of antisemitic incidents that have affected the Jewish community in Australia in recent years. Herzog was invited by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads a Labor Party–headed coalition that holds a sharply critical position toward Israel’s policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians.
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President Isaac Herzog leaves wreath and stones from Jerusalem at the Bondi Beach memorial
(Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO)
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President's visit to the memorial site for the victims of the Bondi Beach attack
(Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO)
Herzog was joined for the ceremony at Bondi Beach by the chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Yaakov Hagoel; the chairman of the Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog; as well as leaders of the Australian Jewish community, including Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia; Alon Cassuto, CEO of the Zionist Federation of Australia; David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies; and Michele Goldman, CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, as well as former Knesset member Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, chair of JReady for Community Resilience and the Jewish Agency’s Terror Victims Fund.
During the ceremony, Herzog moved among the families of the victims, embracing them. In remarks to the many local and international media outlets covering the visit, he addressed the families, saying: “We came here to strengthen you, to express solidarity, and to ensure that the memory of the 15 pure souls taken from us will be preserved forever.”
The Bondi Beach attack was carried out on December 14, 2025, during a Chabad Hanukkah candle-lighting event. Two ISIS-affiliated terrorists, a father and son, opened fire on those present, killing 15 people and wounding about 40. Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl, Holocaust survivors, and a couple who tried to fight the attackers. The attack was defined as the deadliest terrorist incident in Australia in three decades and shocked the entire country.
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President Isaac Herzog meets with families of the Bondi Beach attack victims
(Photo: Yair Kraus)
Due to security concerns, Herzog’s visit is considered one of the largest security operations in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics, with thousands of police officers and security personnel deployed. Sydney police blocked roads in the areas of the visit and declared certain zones “sterile.”
Throughout the coming week, protests by pro-Palestinian organizations are expected, with demonstrators demanding Herzog’s arrest over the war in Gaza. Traveling with the presidential motorcade, it was hard not to notice jeers and residents raising their middle fingers in protest against the visit.
Herzog is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Albanese and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, and to visit Jewish communities in Melbourne and Canberra. Albanese said the purpose of the visit is “to unite the community and express support for the bereaved families.”
'Maybe we’ll have to leave'
Anna Nora Bella, a Sydney resident who previously lived in Israel, shared her feelings—and those of the local Jewish community—following the December attack. Even before the ceremony, when she heard Hebrew spoken by Israeli journalists near a hotel in central Sydney, she struggled to hide her emotion.
“My mother went through the Holocaust as a small child, and I never thought my grandchildren would have to deal with all this too,” she told ynet, revealing a gold pendant hidden under her shirt bearing the word “Chai.” “I am so proud of the visit by the president of the State of Israel here and don’t know how to express my excitement. I am deeply pained by the situation here and by the fact that the Labor government is not standing with us.”
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Evacuation of the wounded after the December attack on Bondi Beach
(Photo: Mark Baker/AP)
Some of the victims were her neighbors. Aware of the protests against the visit, she warned against walking near the hotel in the coming days. “The pro-Palestinians here are very aggressive and impossible to persuade,” she added. “They don’t understand the story or know the background. They just shout that Israel kills children. You can’t break through that wall. The government supports them. If Labor continues with this policy and wins the elections, we will have no choice but to leave. The prime minister and Foreign Minister Penny Wong need to wake up.”
Later, at Herzog’s press conference at the memorial site, he responded to a ynet question and asked to convey a message to Anna Bella: “She is our Australian sister and our Jewish sister, and she is dear to our hearts like every Jew around the world who must feel safe expressing their Jewish identity.”