To state politics now and ahead of a planned protest against the Australian visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Forrest Place this afternoon, Premier Roger Cook has backed their right to protest but rejected the premise of the rally.
Herzog arrived at Sydney Airport this morning to pay tribute to the 15 killed during the terrorist attack at the Hannukah celebration in Bondi on December 14. He will spend the next four days travelling to Canberra and Melbourne.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (centre) and his wife the first lady of Israel Michal Herzog with NSW Premier Chris Minns during their visit to Bondi Pavilion. KATE GERAGHTY
Friends of Palestine WA will join in a nationwide series of protests with a rally this afternoon at Forrest Place.
Organiser Nick Everett said the protests were being staged to demand the Australian Federal Police arrest Herzog after a United Nations commission of inquiry found Herzog and other Israeli officials were “liable to prosecution for incitement to genocide” for comments made after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
“The Albanese government has chosen to roll out the red carpet to Isaac Herzog. Inviting Herzog to Australia is a political endorsement of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. It sends a clear message that war crimes will be rewarded rather than held accountable,” he said.
Cook said “obviously” he didn’t think Herzog should be arrested and said that wasn’t the role of the AFP.
“President Herzog has responded to an invitation from Prime Minister Albanese. It’s appropriate that he’s treated with the respect that an overseas dignitary deserves,” he said.
“We have views about the conflict in Gaza, I understand that they’re views that are felt by everyone, and the scenes you see in Gaza are, quite frankly, distressing, and it challenges your sense of humanity.
“But it’s important that everyone do the right thing, express their views respectfully and peacefully. That’s what we do in a democracy.“
The rally comes a fortnight after the Invasion Day rally at Forrest Place, which was evacuated after a man allegedly threw an improvised bomb into the crowd in what has now been deemed a terrorist act.
Cook said police would work closely with organisers to ensure the protest took place safely.
Speaking at Bondi during his visit on Monday morning Herzog said the demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” his nation’s “mere existence”.
“We did not seek that war on October 7,” he said. “People were butchered, murdered, raped and burnt and abducted. We have here bereaved Israeli families who came from … Kibbutz Nir Oz and from the war in order to express their condolences here at Bondi.”