Herzog faces Australia protests while his ex-adviser spreads hate

Australia’s government has laid out the red carpet for genocide-inciting Israeli president Isaac Herzog. And its police have met mass protests against the visit with violence. Herzog’s ex-adviser Eylon Levy, meanwhile, prepared for the trip by dehumanising Palestinians.

Thousands oppose Herzog’s visit, and Levy spreads hatred

Thousands of anti-genocide protesters in Australia hit the streets on Monday 9 February. But police got special permission to crack down on dissent. And they used pepper spray, made dozens of arrests, and even threw punches.

Numerous MPs had previously called on the government to cancel the divisive visit, promising to join the protests. The Jewish Council of Australia, meanwhile, had also asked in an open letter for the cancellation of the invitation. Over 1,000 academics and community leaders from Australia’s Jewish community had signed.

As usual, though, Levy struggled to hide his disdain for the people suffering or opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Dehumanisation has played a key role in the extermination campaign. And Levy continued this tradition by sharing an animation picturing a toad wearing a Keffiyeh, saying it was a “poisonous invasive species”:

Levy has also tried to compare UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese with Hamas due to her opposition to genocide:

Australia’s mass protests

Thousands of people thought it was important to show their opposition to Herzog’s visit considering his role in inciting genocide. At the start of Israel’s campaign of mass murder in occupied Gaza, which followed the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Herzog had said:

it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true, this rhetoric about civilians who were not aware and not involved. It is absolutely not true.

A UN Human Rights Council report in 2025 found that Herzog and others had:

incited the commission of genocide

This is why many Australians called for Herzog’s arrest.

As Amnesty International said:

Welcoming President Herzog as an official guest undermines Australia’s commitment to accountability and justice.

In Sydney, authorities mobilised 3,000 police officers against protesters. A local court, meanwhile, rejected a challenge to protest restrictions.

Videos have emerged showing apparent police violence against some protesters:

Herzog claimed people opposing his visit were seeking to “undermine and delegitimise” the state of Israel’s ‘right to exist‘. Francesca Albanese has previously clarified that no state has a right to exist under international law, but that people do:

Herzog must face accountability for his genocide incitement. Other genocide-inciters and war criminals from Israel (and elsewhere) should too. For that to happen, governments must stop normalising horrific crimes by inviting them on state visits. And that’s what thousands of Australians took to the streets to demand.

Featured image via DeclassifiedUK