{"id":290465,"date":"2026-02-14T05:10:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290465\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T05:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T05:10:06","slug":"isaac-herzogs-four-days-in-australia-left-him-energised-for-the-jewish-community-some-saw-solidarity-while-others-felt-serious-angst-bondi-beach-terror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290465\/","title":{"rendered":"Isaac Herzog\u2019s four days in Australia left him \u2018energised\u2019. For the Jewish community, some saw solidarity while others felt \u2018serious angst\u2019 | Bondi beach terror attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s visit to Australia by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has lived up to its controversial billing as police in Sydney clashed with protesters and Muslims praying in the street with such violence it sparked an independent investigation<\/a>, and the guest of honour went from place to place in secrecy and high security.<\/p>\n

Anthony Albanese said the visit would help to foster unity in Australia and that the Israeli president came \u201cto offer sympathy and solidarity to people who are mourning and offer his support to members of Australia\u2019s Jewish community\u201d following the Bondi beach terror attack<\/a> where 15 people attending a Hanukah celebration were killed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For his part, Herzog told a gathering of Melbourne\u2019s Jewish community that he had been buoyed by \u201chope\u201d during his visit. He would, he said, return to Israel feeling empowered after \u201cseeing first-hand the beauty in this community\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we came to give strength to you, we leave with more strength. We came to give inspiration and we leave inspired and energised.\u201d<\/p>\n

While not unanimously endorsed, much of Australia\u2019s Jewish community has been supportive of Herzog\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

The co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin said the visit of the president \u2013 \u201ca statesman\u201d and a scion of one of Israel\u2019s most famous families \u2013 was a \u201ctremendous success\u201d, especially for the families of victims of the massacre.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could see how much it meant to them. I could see some of them weeping in his arms and the arms of the first lady. It\u2019s a sad reality that the president of Israel has probably comforted more victims of terror than anyone in the world, and it was sincere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Jewish people around the world seeing what happened in Bondi, it was extremely personal to them to feel that connection to the Jewish world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herzog said his visit was partly to bring relations between Israel and Australia to \u2018a new beginning and a better future\u2019. Photograph: James Ross\/EPA<\/p>\n

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president, David Ossip, said Herzog\u2019s visit was \u201can important practical step towards peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

Herzog insisted he came with a diplomatic purpose too, \u201cto bring the relations between our nations on a new beginning and a better future<\/a>\u201d, a scarcely veiled reference to Australia\u2019s decision to formally recognise the state of Palestine<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n

Albanese repeatedly emphasised this week that Herzog was the Israeli head of state \u2013 the equivalent to the Australian governor general \u2013 and therefore any criticism of the Netanyahu government should not be directed at him.<\/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 on Monday, 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

But there is also significant disquiet within Australia\u2019s Jewish community.<\/p>\n

My parents and I are at the opposite extreme. They were at the Herzog event while I was at the protest<\/p>\n

Jesse McNicoll, from Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney<\/a>, said he was disgusted that Herzog had been invited to Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always going to be very divisive. It was always going to create serious angst in the Palestinian and \u2026 Arab communities that are our brothers and sisters. It\u2019s also created a really dangerous idea in people\u2019s minds \u2013 actually an antisemitic trope \u2013 that Jews have dual loyalty to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNicoll said there were many Jews in Australia who opposed the actions of the state of Israel, but could not say so \u201cfor fear of ostracisation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt saddens me that a lot of people in the Jewish community are [engaging in] what people sometimes describe as intra-communal violence, where people who are really staunchly pro-Israel are really vilifying Jewish people who are not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way that\u2019s brought people who are really concerned about what Israel is doing together. That\u2019s created a really strong sense of community among Jews who don\u2019t want to be defined by the atrocities that Israel is committing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters at a rally outside Flinders Street Station in Melbourne on Thursday 12 February. Photograph: Michael Currie\/AAP<\/p>\n

Herzog\u2019s visit has even divided Jewish families. Sarah did not want to give her full name because it would upset her elderly parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents and I are at the opposite extreme. They were at the Herzog event at the [International Convention Centre] while I was at the protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey call the Palestine<\/a> Justice Movement \u2018hate marches\u2019. They\u2019re adamant those are antisemitic. The way I see it, they\u2019re \u2026 unable to look at any of the facts because they\u2019re so deeply invested in propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah said she has been called a \u201cself-hating Jew\u201d by people she believed were friends, and condemned for not raising her children Jewish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel grateful to be able to go to protests against the war in Gaza. The genocide continues. I feel grateful for the welcome that everybody there gives the Jews who are there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week\u2019s visit to Australia by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has lived up to its controversial billing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-290465","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\/290465","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=290465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}