{"id":225957,"date":"2026-01-07T20:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T20:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/225957\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T20:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T20:29:07","slug":"labor-group-urges-albanese-to-rescind-invitation-to-israeli-president-isaac-herzog-anthony-albanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/225957\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor group urges Albanese to rescind invitation to Israeli president Isaac Herzog | Anthony Albanese"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of rank-and-file Labor party<\/a> members has urged the Albanese government to rescind its invitation for the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to visit Australia, voicing outrage over his country\u2019s military bombardment of Gaza.<\/p>\n

In signs of further strain inside the Labor movement over the war in the Middle East and the response to the alleged antisemitic terror attack at Bondi beach, the Labor Friends of Palestine group said that, if Herzog does travel to Australia, federal police should investigate him for his role in what they alleged was incitement of genocide \u2013 an outcome international law experts say is unlikely to occur.<\/p>\n

Labor Friends of Palestine \u2013 which says it has more than 1,000 grassroots members across Australia and which had agitated internally<\/a> for the federal government to recognise a Palestinian state \u2013 called for Herzog\u2019s invitation to be cancelled.<\/p>\n

A collection of smaller Jewish community groups \u2013 including the Jewish Council of Australia, Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney and Anti-Zionism Australia \u2013 also wrote to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese<\/a>, this week, calling for Herzog\u2019s invitation to be retracted, claiming his visit risked \u201cexacerbating racism and antisemitism\u201d because he was \u201cnot a neutral or ceremonial head of state\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Other mainstream Jewish community groups have welcomed Herzog\u2019s visit. Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has said<\/a> he looked forward to Herzog\u2019s visit bringing \u201ctremendous comfort to the families\u201d of Bondi victims and \u201chopefully a reset of the bilateral relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n

Albanese said on 24 December that he had requested the governor general, Sam Mostyn, to formally invite Herzog to visit in early 2026, after the attack on Jewish Australians at a Bondi beach Hanukah festival.<\/p>\n

Herzog is Israel\u2019s head of state, as opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu, who wields executive power as the nation\u2019s prime minister. Albanese said at the time it was \u201centirely appropriate for the head of state to visit\u201d, indicating he had not invited Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

Herzog, writing on social media, accepted the government\u2019s invitation and said he had also been invited by the Zionist Federation of Australia to join the Jewish community on his visit.<\/p>\n

Labor Friends of Palestine claimed Herzog had \u201cactively supported and enabled a long list of the gravest violations of international law\u201d during the Gaza bombardment, claiming he \u201cworks hand-in-hand\u201d with Netanyahu, who is subject to international criminal court arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC has not issued an arrest warrant for Herzog.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s statement pointed to Herzog\u2019s 2023 statement<\/a> that \u201cit is an entire nation out there that is responsible\u201d for the 7 October attacks on Israel, and a United Nations commission\u2019s conclusion in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza<\/a>. That commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, stated that Herzog, Netanyahu and then defence minister Yoav Gallant \u201chave incited the commission of genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s foreign ministry rejected<\/a> the commission\u2019s report, calling it \u201cdistorted and false\u201d and claiming it \u201crelies entirely on Hamas falsehoods\u201d.<\/p>\n

Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the international court of justice<\/a> a \u201cform of blood libel\u201d<\/a> and pushed back on criticism of his 2023 comments, claiming he had been taken out of context, and noting he had said in the same media appearance that Israel would respect international law and there was no excuse for the killing of innocent civilians. The ICJ is yet to issue its final ruling.<\/p>\n

The Israeli embassy in Canberra and Albanese\u2019s office were contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Donald Rothwell, professor of international law at the Australian National University, said it was highly unlikely the government would take action against Herzog.<\/p>\n

He noted the president had been explicitly invited to visit by the government, and there was no publicly announced ICC arrest warrant for Herzog \u2013 unlike Netanyahu<\/a> \u2013 meaning Australia was under no obligation to take legal action under international law.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the major issue is that he\u2019s a sitting head of state, and unquestionably enjoys head of state immunity. Under that, he\u2019s not subject to Australian law or prosecution for crimes he may have committed within or outside Australia,\u201d Rothwell said.<\/p>\n

The letter from smaller Jewish organisations claimed there would be \u201cmass protests \u2026 [including] a very large contingent of Jewish participants\u201d if Herzog visited.<\/p>\n

Shamikh Badra, a Palestinian Australian man who has lost seven family members<\/a> in the conflict in Gaza, has written a formal complaint about Herzog\u2019s visit to the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, calling on the government to assess its obligations under the UN genocide convention, which include the prevention and punishment of genocide. <\/p>\n

In the letter, seen by Guardian Australia, Badra said he was writing to the government \u201cas a person directly and gravely affected by the events in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lost seven members of my family as a result of the ongoing military assault on Gaza, including my father, my brother, his four children, and his wife. To this day, their remains have not been recovered,\u201d he wrote. Burke has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Monique Cormier, an associate professor at Monash University law school, said the government was not required to respond to the complaint under international law, agreeing with Rothwell that Herzog would be protected by head of state immunity against legal action.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn inviting him here or having him here, there\u2019s a possibility that Australia could be in breach of its obligations under the genocide convention to prevent and punish genocide, but it\u2019s unlikely that this would go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cormier said asking the AFP to investigate Herzog during his visit was not possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s definitely something they cannot do,\u201d she said, saying the AFP would require the attorney general\u2019s consent. \u201cThe high court has made that really clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation, criticised calls to rescind Herzog\u2019s invitation, calling it a \u201ctroubling escalation in rhetoric\u201d which overlooked Australia\u2019s longstanding relationship with Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s invitation to president Herzog is an appropriate and important gesture of solidarity with Australians following the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalls by groups such as Labor Friends of Palestine to rescind the invitation, or for police to investigate a visiting ceremonial head of state, are not grounded in fact or law.\u201d<\/p>\n