{"id":282038,"date":"2026-02-09T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282038\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:30:08","slug":"isaac-herzog-brings-goodwill-and-a-warning-as-he-visits-bondi-beach-after-terror-attack-bondi-beach-terror-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282038\/","title":{"rendered":"Isaac Herzog brings goodwill and a warning as he visits Bondi beach after terror attack | Bondi beach terror attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

He came to Bondi beach with words, with \u201cgoodwill\u201d, and with stones in his pocket.<\/p>\n

For two months, this place has reckoned with what happened here, struggled to comprehend the enormity of the massacre that unfolded on a Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Since the targeted antisemitic killings, in which gunmen claimed 15 lives, much remains the same: the water is warm and clear, the surfers and swimmers and sand-runners are back in their domains.<\/p>\n

But much has changed, perhaps irreparably.<\/p>\n

A large menorah stands in the park as a constant reminder. The bridge from where the gunmen wreaked their murderous havoc is chalked with drawings. Daily, police patrol the boulevard on foot, helicopters swoop overhead.<\/p>\n

But beyond that, there is an abiding sense that what happened here can and did happen \u2013 that evil erupted in this usually joyous place, leaving it for ever altered.<\/p>\n

A step in finding the language for what transpired has been the visit of the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He arrived in Bondi on Monday under leaden skies, carrying a message of goodwill, and two small stones from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\"IsaacIsaac Herzog pays tribute to Bondi terror attack victims \u2013 video<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Jewish tradition, we place stones on to represent the endurance of memory, the weight of loss, and the unbreakable bond between the living and those we have lost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese stones from Jerusalem \u2026 will remain here at Bondi for eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Herzog carried, too, a warning, that a rising tide of antisemitism represented a \u201cglobal emergency\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAntisemitism here in Australia is not a Jewish problem \u2013 it is an Australian problem and a global problem. Over the generations, one thing has become clear, hatred that starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why the current rise in antisemitism around the world is a global emergency, and we must all act to fight against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israeli president Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal at Bondi Pavilion. Photograph: David Gray\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Herzog paid tribute to those who rushed to the aid of Jews being brutally slaughtered on a Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the face of this evil, we saw the very best of humanity. Suddenly, here, on Bondi, surfboards became \u2026 stretchers as extraordinary, ordinary people ran into the danger and saved innocent lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the awkward confines of the memorial ceremony, hemmed in by marquees, security cordons and steady rain, Herzog sought to offer some comfort to the families of the victims of the attack: an official focal point for their grief and fury, a national mourner-in-chief.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is why I\u2019m here today \u2013 to embrace and console the bereaved families.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Herzog has been a controversial choice as the focus for that healing. Even those who wholeheartedly support his invitation to Australia have come to recognise that.<\/p>\n

Wreaths and stones laid at Bondi Pavilion to honour victims and families of the terror attack. Photograph: Hollie Adams\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The son of a president and grandson of a man who served as chief rabbi of Israel<\/a>, he is not a faith leader, he is a politician.<\/p>\n

Herzog is head of state of a nation prosecuting a brutal war against Hamas, across the occupied territory of Gaza.<\/p>\n

And he has been accused by a UN commission of inquiry as having incited genocide against the Palestinian people when he said that all Gazans were responsible for the 7 October attacks against Israel. He has denied the accusation and says his words were taken out of context.<\/p>\n

The office of president of Israel carries little overt power, but it holds great influence \u2013 and Israeli soldiers have echoed the sentiment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On his first of four days in Australia, the war prosecuted by the state which Herzog leads was never far away.<\/p>\n

As he spoke, a flag was unfurled to his left bearing the picture of an IDF soldier next to a Star of David.<\/p>\n

Herzog was asked directly what he made of thousands of people promising to take to the streets of cities around Australia to protest his country\u2019s war.<\/p>\n

A protest against the visit of Isaac Herzog outside Sydney Town Hall. Photograph: Izhar Khan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding here at the solemn site where 15 people were killed indiscriminately, there are protests planned today in Sydney for people who are mourning 70,000 killed in Gaza, including 20,000 children. Can you reflect and what is the message to protesters, if you have one?\u201d<\/p>\n

Herzog replied the demonstrations \u201cundermine and delegitimise\u201d his nation\u2019s \u201cmere existence\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not seek that war on October 7,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople were butchered, murdered, raped and burnt and abducted.\u201d<\/p>\n

A handful of kilometres away, in the centre of Sydney, the supreme court heard arguments as to why a pro-Palestine march should be allowed to go ahead.<\/p>\n

Under extraordinary powers, New South Wales police have declared almost all of central Sydney, and the city\u2019s eastern suburbs \u2013 home to Bondi beach \u2013 as designated areas where protests are restricted, with marchers facing arrest.<\/p>\n

In defiance of the declaration, a march was planned from Sydney Town Hall to NSW parliament on Monday evening. A challenge brought before the court from the Palestine Action Group argued the declaration was \u201coverbroad, uncertain and unreasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n

But lawyers for the state government won their case, convincing the court there were other venues for a protest march, not subject to restrictions.<\/p>\n

Protestors were unbowed<\/a>, promising to hold their rally, despite the risk of arrest.<\/p>\n

At Bondi, Jewish-Australian mother Yvonne, injured during the massacre sheltering her two-year-old son, said Herzog\u2019s visit \u201cfrom the other side of the world\u201d was a vital symbol of unity and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important,\u201d she said, as she stood on crutches. \u201cIt shows solidarity. It made us realise no matter where we are in the world we\u2019ll still be supported \u2026 that we\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He came to Bondi beach with words, with \u201cgoodwill\u201d, and with stones in his pocket. For two months,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-282038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}