MELBOURNE: Pro-Palestine protesters rallied in Melbourne on Thursday on the final day of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s trip to Australia, following protests in the capital Canberra and violent clashes between protesters and police in Sydney.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.
The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza.
Protesters cite a United Nations Commission of Inquiry that last year concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Herzog incited these acts – accusations that Israel called scandalous.
In Melbourne’s central business district, a large crowd gathered outside one of the city’s main railway stations on Thursday evening. Many protesters wore keffiyeh scarves and waved Palestinian flags.
Neville Steer, 69, travelled about one hour from the suburb of McCrae to join the rally that police expect to draw around 5,000 protestors.
“My concern is for the people in Palestine and particularly in Gaza, the impact that Israel’s having on the whole population,” he said.
Elijah Fokkens, 20, said it was hard to sit by and do nothing after seeing the destruction of Gaza by Israel’s government on social media.
He said he was “protesting Herzog being as destructive and as implicit as he is in this genocide. I think it’s really important to show up and demand our government do better”.
Graffiti that appeared on a Melbourne University campus on Thursday calling for the death of Herzog has been referred to the police, the university said.
There is no indication the graffiti was connected to the planned protests.
PRESIDENT SAYS AUSTRALIA ANTISEMITISM FRIGHTENING
Herzog, who has also visited Sydney and Canberra on the four-day trip, said on Thursday there was “frightening” antisemitism in Australia.
“There is antisemitism. It is frightening and worrying, but there’s also a silent majority of Australians who seek peace, who respect the Jewish community, and of course, want a dialogue with Israel,” he said in an interview with television network Channel Seven.
The accusation Herzog was involved in genocide in Gaza – a common claim by protesters – was a “lie”, he added.
Herzog later spoke at a Jewish community event in Melbourne’s south, where he said it was “obscure and odd” that such a heavy police presence was needed outside the venue.
“I say to all those protesters outside, go protest in front of the Iranian embassy or whichever embassy they have,” he said.
Police and protesters also clashed in Sydney on Monday evening, with 27 arrested after demonstrations against Herzog’s visit turned violent.
Both sides accused each other of assault, with police eventually using tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd in the city’s central business district.
