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 visited Australia this week following an invitation from Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14th shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.
The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia. 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 Binyamin 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.
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.
Herzog, who has also visited Sydney and Canberra on the four-day trip, said on Thursday there was “frightening” anti-Semitism in Australia.
“There is anti-Semitism. 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. - Reuters
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