Police officers detain protesters during a pro-Palestinian rally outside Sydney Town Hall against Israeli president's visit to Australia in Sydney on February 09, 2026. Photo: VCG

As Israeli President Isaac Herzog started a four-day visit to Australia, intended to express solidarity with Australia's Jewish communities following a deadly mass shooting last year, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country on Monday to protest against his arrival. According to media reports, nine individuals were charged following violent confrontations between demonstrators and police during a protest in Sydney. Meanwhile, Sky News has reported that pro-Palestinian activists are preparing to hold another protest on Tuesday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday he was "devastated" by the violence and urged protesters to express their views peacefully, according to Reuters.
 
Herzog is in Sydney as part of a visit to Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the governor-general following the December 14 terrorist attack where 15 people, mostly Jewish Australians, were killed at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, the ABC News reported.

Earlier, the ABC News cited Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin as saying that Herzog 's visit "will lift the spirits of a pained community" and he was hopeful the "the visit would strengthen relations between Israel and Australia."
 
However, reactions to his visit in Australia have been mixed. According to a Reuters report, the visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organized protests in cities and towns across the country on Monday evening.

On Monday, thousands gathered near Sydney's Town Hall, despite strict protest restrictions introduced ahead of the major event, referring to the visit of Herzog. Pepper spray was deployed during clashes, with paramedics treating a number of people while police said there were no reports of serious injuries, the Sky News reported.

During the protests, 27 people were arrested for a range of alleged offences, including assaulting police officers. Police on Tuesday afternoon announced they charged nine demonstrators over a range of incidents, per Sky News. 

Saying he was "devastated" by the violence, Albanese said on Tuesday urged protesters to express their views peacefully. "Australians want two things. They don't want conflict brought here. They want killing to stop, whether it's Israelis or Palestinians, but they do not want conflict brought here," Albanese said, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday. 

The Sky News also reported that pro-Palestine activists have planned a rally outside a major Sydney police station on Tuesday. 

On arrival to Sydney, Herzog laid a wreath at Bondi Pavilion on Monday, as a tribute to the victims of the terror attack at Bondi Beach, and on Monday evening, the Israeli president gave a speech at Sydney's International Convention Centre, where he said that antisemitism has been "festering" in Australia, a report by Australian media ABC showed. 

"Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia has exposed deep divisions within Australian Jewish communities," one opinion piece wrote by Sarah Schwartz from Jewish Council of Australia on Financial Review said. "While legacy Jewish organisations have welcomed the visit, many Jewish Australians, myself included, have expressed profound opposition."

An analysis from the ABC on February 6 claimed that Albanese clearly flailed to find a way through the anger and recriminations following the Bondi attack and then decided to invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog to visit Australia in support of the Jewish community. "But the Israeli president's visit has now not only crystallised the divisions in the community. Very unfortunately, it has also represented a direct link between events… That is, it has linked Israel's actions in Gaza to the antisemitic killings in Bondi," the ABC analysis stated. 

The controversy surrounding the Israeli President's visit to Australia stems primarily from severe humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, triggering criticism of Israel across Australian society, Ding Long, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

Ding noted that the protest is part of a broader trend: since the outbreak of the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a continuous wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations has erupted worldwide, particularly across Western countries.