Israeli President Isaac Herzog is laying a wreath at Bondi Pavilion for the 15 people killed on the first night of Hanukkah. He will then speak to the media.
Watch live below.
We are following Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s official state visit to Australia. If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know today:
- Herzog and Israel’s first lady, Michal, have arrived in Sydney for an official state visit following the Bondi Beach massacre that saw 15 people killed and dozens more injured, mostly Jewish, on the first night of Hanukkah. A heavy security presence surrounds the travelling delegation, with several road closures and snipers stationed on rooftops nearby.
- The visit has prompted pro-Palestine activists to prepare for a nationwide day of protest. The Palestine Action Group has planned a demonstration starting at Town Hall from 5.30pm today. They have estimated about 5000 people will attend.
- The NSW government has declared Herzog’s visit a major event under legislation typically used to manage crowds at sporting events, giving police additional powers to “close off” designated areas and to order people to leave. Protesters will launch an eleventh-hour Supreme Court challenge against the declaration this morning, arguing the government had acted outside its legal powers.
- Sydneysiders can expect disruptions, road closures, and a heavy police presence across Sydney this week. Multiple road closures are in place until 2pm on Thursday, and more than 500 officers have been rostered to police today’s protest.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is laying a wreath at Bondi Pavilion for the 15 people killed on the first night of Hanukkah. He will then speak to the media.
Watch live below.
Herzog and his team have pulled into Bondi Pavilion.
Escorted by around a dozen police on motorbikes, with a police helicopter flying overhead, the president’s black motorcade pulled in close to the pavilion.
His entourage, including outgoing Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, walked in from the street carrying umbrellas to protect themselves from the rain.
Some locals have arrived at the barricades near Bondi Pavilion to show their support for the president’s visit.
Phil Levy has arrived with large Israeli and Australian flags, which he dangled over the fence near the pavilion.
“We came to welcome the president of Israel, to give him the welcome that he deserves from the Australian public,” he said.
Levy said he hopes the president offers a message of “unity, support, grief, and comfort to the families” of the victims.
David Milston said he felt the opposition to Herzog’s visit was misdirected. While he said he wouldn’t condone a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he felt Herzog’s visit wasn’t political.
The position of president in Israel is largely ceremonial.
“He’s here to show support,” he said.
Both commended Minns and Albanese on their support for Herzog’s visit.
There are no signs of protesters against Herzog’s visit at Bondi.
There is a major police presence at Bondi, with specialist officers carrying long arms. Snipers are located on rooftops overlooking Bondi Pavilion and dozens of officers are patrolling the streets.
Streets around the pavilion have been closed to traffic, including sections of Campbell Parade. The two pedestrian bridges either side of the pavilion have also been closed.
Ahead of Herzog and Minns’ arrival, police were seen sweeping the area.
Specialist police located an item at Bondi Pavilion earlier that required assessment, but the item was later revealed to be old party sparklers and of no concern.
In Queensland, advocates who use a pro-Palestine chant could face imprisonment under new laws to tackle antisemitism and terrorism that are set to be introduced to state parliament this week.
The suite of reforms will include tougher penalties on the use of symbols such as swastikas and other Nazi emblems, the Hamas and Islamic State flags, and the Hezbollah emblem.
They will also crack down on intimidation and wilful damage at places of worship, with penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment.
The Crisafulli government legislation would be similar to new laws in NSW. It would criminalise the public use of phrases “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” – both chants that have been used by pro-Palestinian protesters worldwide amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
An urgent legal challenge to sweeping powers given to NSW Police by the state government for Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia is under way in the Supreme Court.
The NSW government quietly declared Herzog’s visit a major event on Friday under legislation typically used to manage crowds at sporting events. The declaration was announced on Saturday.
It triggered wide-ranging powers for NSW Police, including the power to shut down parts of the “major events area” in the Sydney CBD and eastern suburbs, to limit the number of people who can remain in the area, and to conduct searches.
The Palestine Action Group (PAG) has planned a demonstration at Sydney Town Hall from 5.30pm on Monday. It estimated about 5000 people would attend.
That location is within the “major events area” declared by the state government, giving police broad powers to stop the protest. PAG is challenging the declaration in court.
The group’s barrister, Peter Lange, SC, told the Supreme Court this morning that the “declared major event … is said to be the [presidential] visit”.
He said this was “not sufficient to amount to an event” for the purposes of the laws.
“An event is something which is limited geographically, temporally, and with regard to a group of participants,” Lange said.
The group is arguing the government acted outside its legal powers in making the major event declaration, as well as that the declaration was made for the “improper purpose” of “shutting down a protest”.
The major event legislation explicitly states the government “may not declare an industrial or political demonstration or protest to be a major event”.
The declaration made by the government describes the event as the presidential visit. The court will need to consider if this kind of event is covered by the laws.
Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees says protesters rallying against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog are “not looking for conflict with police”.
Ahead of a pivotal eleventh-hour case in the Supreme Court this morning, Lees decried the “PR tour of the Israeli head of state”. He anticipated “huge numbers” of protesters on Monday evening regardless of the outcome of the hearing.
“We’re not seeking any confrontation or conflict with police,” Lees said in a brief press conference.
Lees indicated protesters would abide by the ruling of Justice Robertson Wright if it did not fall their way.
The group’s application for a march has been blocked by police, requiring them to hold a static protest instead. They are separately requesting NSW Police facilitate a march from Town Hall to NSW parliament.
“We haven’t convinced them of that yet,” Lees said.
The group will challenge the state government’s designation of Herzog’s four-day visit as a “major event” in the Supreme Court. The laws were not intended for political events as a means of shutting down protest, Lees said.
“That’s one of the clear bases we’ll be opposing the laws today, as well as they’re just wildly disproportionate by nature, given the obscene kind of powers that they give to police,” he said.
Lees said the visit of Herzog was an “insult to the memory of Bondi”, saying the politician’s visit did “nothing to help any process of healing”.
Minns said he would “not front run” the outcome of legal action in the Supreme Court later today.
“They’ve got to make a decision in the next few hours,” he said.
Asked whether the public could expect to see police carrying long-arm rifles in city streets, Minns said they could in particular locations, before adding that it was a tactical and operational decision made by NSW Police.
“I think reasonable people expect us to keep him safe and to keep the community safe during this visit,” Minns said.
Premier Chris Minns has urged protesters to show respect and reminded the broader public that Sydney was on the “international stage” during the visit by the Israeli president.
“We want this 48-hour period to go off without incident,” Minns told reporters this morning.
“That’s hugely important for our reputation, but also in terms of unity and civility in the weeks and months and years ahead, long after the president has left our shores.”
Minns rejected the argument from protest groups that his government had outlawed all protest: “That’s not the case. There’s been protests in various parts of Sydney since the 14th of December (the date of the Bondi terror attack).”
Minns said it was important the government manage public order and community harmony “in a respectful way”, noting that there would be a massive police operation in Sydney over the next 48 hours.
“I know there’s disagreement about this visit,” he said. “But I think it’s hugely important for the long-term unity of the city and the country if there is disagreement, it’s done in a calm and respectful way. It doesn’t spill into conflict.
“I think that would be very hard for our city to recover from.”
Photographer Peter Rae is covering Herzog’s visit. He filed these pictures of the heavy security presence surrounding the Israeli president and first lady this morning.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
