Scenes of violence unfolded in Sydney on Monday night as police moved in on protesters opposing the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog, leaving Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visibly shaken.
“These are scenes that I think shouldn’t be taking place,” Albanese said to local media on Tuesday, reflecting on the clashes that saw 27 people arrested during a large demonstration in the city.
The protest had been planned near Sydney’s Town Hall, where thousands gathered despite a court ruling that upheld police powers restricting the event. Organisers had tried to challenge the rules in court but were unsuccessful.
Albanese defended his invitation to Herzog, saying it was intended to help the Jewish community recover from the Bondi shootings, even though the decision faced criticism from pro-Palestinian groups.
On December 14, two gunmen attacked a crowd celebrating the Jewish festival of Hannukah at Bondi, killing 15 people, including a ten-year-old girl.
Videos from the protest, which drew an estimated 6,000 people, showed clashes between police and demonstrators in areas around Town Hall. Some clips appeared to show officers punching protesters and forcibly removing Muslim men who were praying.
Josh Lees of the Palestine Action Group, which organised the rally, described Monday’s events as the most violent he had witnessed in years.
“We should have had the right to march,” Lees told ABC radio.
He added, “all of this could have been avoided” if police had allowed the demonstration to proceed along planned routes to the New South Wales Parliament or Hyde Park. Those areas were off-limits under new rules introduced after the Bondi shootings.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns defended the police, saying authorities had faced “an impossible situation last night” during the clashes. He later cautioned the public “not to look at a 10-second clip without the full context.”
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said police officers had been attacked and overwhelmed during several physical confrontations.
He explained that officers had been “threatened, jostled and assaulted” during “a number of melees, rolling fights” and were “significantly outnumbered by the protesters and the people who wanted to act in a violent and offensive manner.”
A further protest has been scheduled for Tuesday evening outside a Sydney police station. Organisers are demanding that all charges against protesters be dropped and that any officers who used force face investigation.
The opposition to Herzog’s visit stems partly from a United Nations commission report last year that said he was among Israeli leaders who had “incited the commission of genocide” against Palestinians through public statements.
The UN cited Herzog’s remarks following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, when he said, “it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.” He was also photographed signing a shell intended for Gaza, an image included in South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
Herzog has rejected the UN findings, claiming his words were misinterpreted, while Israel’s foreign minister called the report “distorted and false.”
