Sydney is bracing for large protests and a heavy police presence as Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrives Monday for a four-day visit to honor victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with authorities warning demonstrators to avoid violence and disruption in the city’s streets.
New South Wales Police said they will deploy in large numbers and have declared the visit a “major event,” a designation that allows officers to separate rival groups and impose crowd-management controls to reduce the risk of confrontation.
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“It’s really important that there’s no clashes or violence on the streets in Sydney,” NSW Premier Chris Minns told reporters. “Our clear message is in an unambiguous way that we’re hoping that people can remain calm and respectful during that presidential visit.”
Herzog has said he will use the trip to “express solidarity and offer strength” to Australia’s Jewish community in the wake of the Dec. 14 attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people. The visit has been welcomed by many Jewish Australians. “His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community,” said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community’s peak body.
Pro-Palestinian groups have called for rallies nationwide, including in central Sydney where police have refused to authorize demonstrations under new powers introduced after the Bondi Beach shooting. Amnesty International Australia has urged supporters to protest for an end to what it called “genocide” against Palestinians and called for Herzog to be investigated for alleged war crimes.
Human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti, a member of a United Nations-established inquiry into rights abuses in Israel and the Palestinian territories, this week called for Herzog’s invitation to be withdrawn or for his arrest upon arrival. The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said in 2025 that Herzog “incited the commission of genocide” by asserting that all Palestinians, “an entire nation,” were responsible for the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Australia’s federal police have ruled out an arrest. Senior officials told legislators they had received legal advice that the Israeli head of state had “full immunity” covering civil and criminal matters, including genocide, while in office.
The heightened security and restrictions on protest permits come amid criticism that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left government moved too slowly to protect Jewish Australians ahead of the Bondi Beach attack, as antisemitic incidents rose in 2023 and 2024.
During the Bondi Beach rampage, alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police. Akram, an Indian national, entered Australia on a visa in 1998. His 24-year-old son, Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 counts of murder.
Authorities did not release detailed timelines for road closures or specific protest locations but urged people to avoid areas where demonstrations are likely and to follow directions from police. The “major event” designation allows officers to cordon off zones, enforce separation between opposing groups and conduct targeted searches in the vicinity of official engagements.
Herzog’s engagements in Sydney are expected to include meetings with community leaders and a memorial for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting. Officials reiterated that lawful, peaceful protest would be respected but said any attempt to incite violence or intimidate the public would be met with swift enforcement.
“We want people to be safe,” Minns said. “That includes those who want to commemorate, those who want to protest and the broader community going about their lives.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
