Palestinian Australians Condemn Herzog Visit as 'Slap in the Face' Amid Gaza Grief
Shamikh Badra has not heard from his brother for over two years. He presumes his brother, sister-in-law, and their four children lie buried under the rubble of their Gaza home, fearing they were buried alive. Badra shared his family's tragic story at a Sydney march organised by the Palestine Action Group, protesting Israeli President Isaac Herzog's upcoming visit to Australia.
"This is what genocide looks like in real life," Badra declared to a crowd of at least 2,000 people. "This is what incitement produces, this is what dehumanisation does. And now, we are told the man who defended these policies is welcome in Australia."
Government's Unity Message Meets Palestinian Anguish
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited Herzog following the 14 December antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach, stating the visit aimed to foster "a greater sense of unity." While major Jewish organisations and governments welcomed the gesture, Palestinian Australians like Raneem Emad describe it as "a slap in the face."
Emad explains: "Being a Palestinian with heritage in Gaza is such a significant part of me that this visit really does feel like a slap in the face. It's just this reminder that, no matter how many speeches or statements the Australian government makes that it wants us to be united in social cohesion, our lives are worth less."
Genocide Allegations and Legal Challenges
Some Jewish Australian organisations argue Herzog should be barred from entering Australia, alleging he incited genocide against Palestinians. They reference a UN commission report from September 2025 that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza and that Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant "have incited the commission of genocide." Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report as "distorted and false."
Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice a "form of blood libel" and defended his 2023 statement that "it is an entire nation out there that is responsible" for the 7 October attacks, claiming he was taken out of context.
Badra, who moved to Sydney eleven years ago and is undertaking a PhD, has sent a letter urging the government to assess its legal obligations under international law before Herzog's arrival. "We should not be encouraging people who incite genocide by rolling out the red carpet," Badra insists. "What is the value of celebrating someone like this? What really can you gain?"
Protest Rights Under Threat
Badra has barely missed a Palestine Action Group rally since October 2023. He marched after learning his father died in Gaza due to lack of food, medication, and clean water, and throughout 2024 and 2025 while fighting to bring his mother to Sydney. They reunited in October, though he hasn't told her about Herzog's visit to avoid upsetting her.
He plans to protest on Monday despite new New South Wales laws passed after the Bondi terror attack that curtail demonstration abilities. An additional "major event" declaration grants police further powers to restrict protest. Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the planned route from Town Hall through the CBD is "unauthorised."
Three NSW Labor backbenchers have stated they will protest, with one asserting Australia should not welcome the head of a state engaged in an "ongoing genocide." A group of thirteen MPs wrote an open letter to Lanyon on Saturday calling for the march to be permitted.
Political Backlash and Safety Concerns
NSW Premier Chris Minns claimed the "implications" of pro-Palestine rallies could be seen in the Bondi terror attack that killed fifteen people. Federal government special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal said after the massacre: "In Australia, it began on 9 October 2023 at the Sydney Opera House. We then watched a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge waving terrorist flags and glorifying extremist leaders. Now death has reached Bondi beach."
The Greens recently warned the Albanese government's new hate speech laws could target critics of Israel's government for prosecution. A NSW parliamentary inquiry recommended banning the phrase "globalise the intifada" when used to incite hatred, harassment, intimidation, or violence.
Badra expresses shock at parallels drawn between the Bondi attack and protests against what the UN commission calls genocide. "The criminals who attack people in Bondi are not Palestinians. They are not a part of the solidarity movement," he states. "We oppose antisemitism, we oppose Islamophobia, we oppose racism."
Movement Resilience and Democratic Rights
Dalia Ahq, who has protested for a free Palestine for two decades, agrees concerns have been dismissed, exacerbated over the past two years and after the Bondi tragedy. She calls on police to allow peaceful protest against Herzog's visit. "The risk is not us protesting but the police not allowing us to," Ahq says. "If they let us, it would minimise the risk of any arrests, any injuries in doing what we have the democratic right to do."
The Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge against NSW's anti-protest laws. Group member Josh Lees notes some prominent Palestinian advocates have withdrawn from public life due to doxing and safety concerns, fearing the Bondi tragedy is being exploited to silence the movement.
"It's just an upside-down world we're living in, where we are just trying to protest on the streets against a genocide and yet constantly the government or the media are trying to make out that we are the bad guys," Lees remarks.
Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, asserts: "Australia's political elite is siding with genocide by welcoming Herzog. For every Australian who says they believe in democracy, human rights, a fair go, free speech, then you simply must protest Herzog's visit."
Badra urges police and the Minns government to permit an estimated 5,000 people to march without fear of prosecution. He vows to protest, stating: "I stand here for my father, for my brother, for his family, and for every Palestinian life."
