Sydney police deployed pepper spray and made multiple arrests as a rally against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia turned violent, marring a tightly secured four-day trip meant to console the country’s Jewish community after December’s Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival.
Officers scuffled with demonstrators in central Sydney and used pepper spray that struck protesters and members of the media, including AFP. An AFP journalist said they saw at least 15 protesters arrested amid clashes. One man drenched his eyes with water after being sprayed. Large crowds also rallied in Australia’s two largest cities, though the Sydney demonstration saw the most intense confrontations.
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The New South Wales state government invoked new powers to give police greater control over demonstrations. A last-minute attempt by protesters to overturn those powers in the state’s Supreme Court failed just before the rally began, local media reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged respect for the purpose of Mr. Herzog’s trip, saying he would join the president in meeting families of those killed at Bondi Beach. “This visit is about supporting a grieving community,” he said earlier.
Against rain and slate skies, Mr. Herzog laid a wreath outside the Bondi Pavilion and placed two stones from Jerusalem at the seaside memorial. “The bonds between good people of all faiths and all nations will continue to hold strong in the face of terror, violence and hatred,” he said. “We shall overcome this evil together.”
The Israeli head of state welcomed what he called “positive steps” by Canberra to combat anti-Semitism, noting tougher gun and hate crime laws introduced since the attack. He told reporters he shared people’s frustrations over a global rise in anti-Semitism and said he had “come here in good will.”
The December shooting left a cross-section of Sydney in mourning. Among the dead were an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, a couple who confronted one of the gunmen, and 10-year-old Matilda, remembered at her funeral as a “ray of sunshine.” Police shot and killed alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, an Indian national who entered Australia in 1998. His 24-year-old son, Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in prison charged with terrorism and 15 murders.
Reaction within Australia’s Jewish community has been mixed. “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. But the progressive Jewish Council of Australia criticized the trip, saying Mr. Herzog was not welcome because of his alleged role in the “ongoing destruction of Gaza.”
Scrutiny of Mr. Herzog abroad has intensified. The U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found last year that he was liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians — “an entire nation” — were responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel. Israel has “categorically” rejected the report as “distorted and false” and has called for the body’s abolition.
Mr. Herzog accused some protesters of seeking to “undermine and delegitimise” Israel’s right to exist, even as he emphasized his focus on mourning and solidarity at Bondi Beach. His itinerary remains under heavy security as authorities brace for further demonstrations during the remainder of the visit.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
