Following the Bondi shootings on 14th December 2025, the Albanese government officially invited Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, to visit Australia. This superseded an earlier invitation to the president issued by the Zionist Federation of Australia.
A spokesperson for President Herzog has confirmed that he plans to travel between 8th and 12th February and will meet with members of the Jewish community.
Opposition
Predictably, this official invitation has provoked widespread opposition, both within Labor ranks and the community at large.
Labor Friends of Palestine NSW has urged the government to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
Independent MP Sophie Scamps also called on the government to withdraw the invitation saying that the visit “risks igniting further division”.
Earlier, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi criticised the government for “welcoming the president of a state committing an ongoing genocide.”
The Jewish Council of Australia protested: “This is not a moment to host the head of a state which has been found to have committed a genocide in Gaza.”
Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) executive director Rawan Arraf says it would be unacceptable for President Herzog, who is accused of inciting genocide, to enter Australia without consequence.
“At a time when the federal government is criminalising hate speech, a person who is alleged to have incited hate to commit the ultimate crime — genocide — must not be allowed to enter Australian territory without facing accountability for these serious allegations,” Ms Arraf said.
The ACIJ has argued that foreign head-of-state immunity should not apply to President Herzog since he is accused of serious international crimes.
It is also the case that Australia has legal obligations to prevent, punish, and avoid complicity in genocide having ratified the UN Genocide Convention in 1949. Such significant legal obligations should not be subverted by Australia’s restrictive foreign head-of-state immunity laws.
Initial protest rallies were held in many capital cities last Sunday against Herzog’s visit.
Inciting the commission of genocide
On 16th September 2025, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a report concluding that Israel is actively committing genocide against Palestinians.
The Commission stated that explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct of the Israeli security forces indicated that genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.
According to Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission:
The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza. The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators.
The Commission also concluded that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, had incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities had failed to take action against them to punish this incitement.
Nationwide protests
Inviting a leader accused of inciting genocide is morally deplorable. Australia must not normalise the crime of genocide with diplomatic honour.
President Herzog should be arrested upon arrival and investigated for the crime of incitement to genocide.
Australia must take its international obligations seriously and hold Israel accountable for its genocide in Gaza.
Access a list of nationwide protests and events taking place against President Herzog’s visit to Australia.
Sydney protest rally – Monday 9th February at 5.30pm, Sydney Town Hall.
Sign the petition: ‘Say no to Herzog visiting Australia’ – Jewish Council of Australia.
Notes (updated)
United Nations (OHCHR), ‘Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds’, Press release, 16 September 2025. Navi Pillay, Chair of UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, is quoted in this press release.
Holly Tregenza, ‘Lawyers call for Australian investigation into Israeli President Isaac Herzog amid genocide allegations’, ABC News, Jan 23, 2026.
Michael West, ‘Arrest Herzog for war crimes, says UN Commissioner Sidoti’, Michael West Media, Feb 4, 2026.
Chris Sidoti, ‘Isaac Herzog is accused of inciting genocide in Gaza. He shouldn’t be welcomed to Australia’, The Guardian, Feb 5, 2026.