Jared Evan

(TJV NEWS) As President Isaac Herzog spoke in Sydney on Monday night about the deadly consequences of antisemitic incitement, anti-Israel demonstrators just kilometers away were chanting the very slogan he warned against, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Addressing roughly 4,000 people at the TikTok Entertainment Center in New South Wales, Herzog drew a direct connection between the chant “Globalize the Intifada” and the December terror attack at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead. The speech came during a remembrance ceremony honoring the victims and expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

“The hatred that led to the Bondi shooting is the same ancient disease of antisemitism suffered by our parents and grandparents,” Herzog told the crowd, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. He argued that the ideology fueling violence in Israel had manifested itself in Australia as well, warning that this was precisely what advocates mean when they call to “globalize the intifada.”

While Herzog was speaking, thousands of protesters gathered at Sydney’s Town Hall in defiance of a court order banning the demonstration. Local outlet News.com.au reported that Grace Tame, a former Australian of the Year, helped lead chants explicitly calling to “globalize the intifada,” urging demonstrators to spread the movement “from Gadigal to Gaza.”

Despite clashes between protesters and police, Herzog was kept well away from the unrest. Authorities deployed roughly 3,500 police officers to secure his visit, protecting both his hotel and motorcade routes.

Herzog arrived in Australia earlier Monday for a four-day visit at the invitation of Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and leaders of the Australian Jewish community. That morning, he visited the site of the Bondi Beach massacre, laying a wreath and meeting with grieving families. He described the attack as a “horrific antisemitic terror act” and said he came to offer comfort and solidarity.

“We are one family,” Herzog said at the site. “When one Jew is hurt, Jews everywhere feel the pain,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Israeli president praised what he called recent steps by the Australian government to confront antisemitism since the Bondi attack, but stressed that he and others had been warning Western leaders for years about a growing wave of anti-Jewish hatred—long before the massacre occurred.

Among the speakers at Sunday night’s solidarity event was New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, a Labor Party member. Minns opened by quoting a famous United Nations speech by Herzog’s father, Chaim Herzog, who condemned the resolution equating Zionism with racism. Chaim Herzog famously said a society’s moral character could be judged by how it treats its Jews.

“The ideology of antisemitism is a test for every society,” Minns said. “And on December 14 at Bondi, we failed that test. That must change.”

Herzog is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Albanese on Wednesday, a meeting seen as an effort to stabilize strained relations between Israel and Australia. Tensions escalated after Australia recognized a Palestinian state over the summer—a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had “poured fuel on an antisemitic fire,” the Jerusalem Post noted.

Much of the Australian media coverage of Herzog’s visit has centered on protests, legal challenges, and heavy security, often eclipsing the broader diplomatic context. That tension surfaced even during the Bondi ceremony, when a reporter asked Herzog to respond to protesters citing civilian deaths in Gaza.

Herzog replied that Israel and Australia have long been close allies and that many protests abroad are driven by voices seeking to delegitimize Israel’s very right to exist, according to the Jerusalem Post.