A national humiliation: Herzog in Australia

Our leaders have completely stuffed this up, and nothing short of a national apology will prevent a worsening impact.

The visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia has thrown a country already suffering from issues related to a lack of social cohesion into a state of flux. Arriving under the invitation of the Albanese government—from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Governor-General Sam Mostyn, and representatives of the Australian Jewish community—it comes at a time when state and federal governments are emphasising social cohesion, during a period in history where Israel stands charged with a UN declared genocide.

Invitation Amid Division

Albanese welcomed President Herzog at Parliament House in Canberra, thanking him for the comfort he was providing Jewish Australians. As crowds protested outside, Herzog replied with thanks before tacking in a message of hope for negotiations between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. He emphasised that the former was focused on convincing the latter that “undermining that empire of evil emanating from Tehran” was a good idea.

Herzog’s response reflects Israel’s interactions with the Albanese government in the post-October 7 era of diplomacy, developed by Tel Aviv and advanced by Zionist interest groups in Australia. The Albanese government has been no slouch when it comes to assisting Israel during this period, whether through what it says, what it doesn’t say, or what it chooses to ignore: from cutting UNRWA funding, to abstaining from calls to recognise genocide at the UN, or ignoring ICC criminal charges against key Israeli government officials. In doing so, the Albanese government has largely maintained military, diplomatic, and economic normalcy with what is arguably the most belligerent nation on the planet—for no apparent benefit.

At no point has the Albanese government’s position been enough for Zionist interest groups, pro-Israel advocates, the media, and the opposition, who have made no secret of their dislike for the Labor PM. Tensions turned to outright repudiation when the PM attended the Bondi vigil a week after the Bondi massacre, where he was met by boos and jeers. Albanese accompanied Herzog in a Sydney synagogue, almost dragging his feet behind the Israeli president, with a look on his face that could only be described as worried. He appeared more like a man undertaking a humiliation ritual than a confident leader of a nation, as he moped past a crowd that wanted his career ended in no uncertain terms.

Chris Minns, cheered by the same crowds in Bondi, held an umbrella over Herzog at Bondi in the dappled rain, as his state heaved under the pressure of the visit. The picture spoke a thousand words about the state of the Australian political class on issues surrounding Israel: pure subservience, total fear, and a lack of courage. However, the peace afforded Herzog and his entourage—via a massive police presence and exclusion zones barring protesters access anywhere near the procession—was not afforded to the people of Sydney only hours later.

Crackdown in the Name of Cohesion

On the streets, Australians were treated in ways not expected of the average citizen. In the name of ‘social cohesion’—a rationale invoked since the world changed after October 7—it has been used to justify restricting Australian public freedoms, serving as the philosophy behind the rallying cry that saw NSW police unleash a form of brutality not seen in this country for some time. It was this so-called social cohesion that led to police kettling protesters in Sydney (which they denied). It was what they demanded while hammering a population protesting Herzog’s invitation, roughing up peaceful attendees who were praying, and brutally assaulting others.

The monopoly of violence took on a different meaning in the secular streets of Sydney, where a government uses the social cohesion—built on the back of generations of multicultural Australians—as a cudgel to beat them in the interests of Zionists. International news captured the brutal police crackdown, turning the story into global headlines. Australia’s image as a peaceful, secular paragon of Western democracy, already tested since the pandemic and amid Canberra’s support for actions in Gaza, appeared as nothing but a brutal crackdown, shocking global audiences.

Herzog isn’t a religious leader; he is a head of state. He represents the state of Israel, which is seen by many as a global pariah. A religious leader can engage with a grieving religious community, but a head of state—especially of Israel—can only advance interests pertaining to Israel. UN Humanitarian Lawyer Chris Sidoti puts it clearly: “Wrong time, wrong person... Herzog should have been banned from entry.” Speaking to the crimes of Israel, for which Herzog as head of state bears responsibility, this is more than enough reason for him not to have been invited. This point is totally lost on the pushed carelessly into our town.

The West Australian, appearing frustrated in its writing style—as its readers must be—posted a headline that read like a mid-ranking Facebook reply: “Progressive protesters hate Israel so much they rally against its President who backs gay rights” (though he opposes interracial marriage in a country where gay marriage is illegal). The Sydney Morning Herald, a tabloid dressed as a broadsheet, published another piece from Peter Hartcher titled ‘We have a choice with Herzog visit – futile fury or solemn solidarity’, filled with what seems like fan fiction, including: “A protest against Herzog cannot make the least difference to even a single Palestinian in Gaza. But it can continue the roiling division inside Australia, pitting Australian against Australian.”

Entangled in Imperium

Albanese has governed during one of the most heated times in modern history and has been unable to steer the nation through a series of crises that break like waves across our vulnerable sovereign nation. His government has us tethered to AUKUS, lashed to Washington, and chained to the objectives of the Israel/US imperium, which heaves like a sinking dreadnought. After loading legislation upon legislation onto the Australian population like a pack horse—and then whipping it towards the flames of the Herzog visit—Australians are watching the representative of a country accused of genocide walk around like he owns the joint, backed fully by the state and federal governments of what purports to be the major party of the left.

As Herzog arrived in Melbourne—for reasons that elude much of the concerned Australian public—Foreign Minister Penny Wong was responding to questions from Greens Senator David Shoebridge about the rationale for the visit. Questioning its intention of promoting peace, Shoebridge asked Wong how the trip could be about peace when the attendee had signed bombs and advocated the theft of Palestinian land. An ashen Wong stumbled on her words, muttering something insufficient and returning serve with her signature gaslighting flurry, which many have come to dislike about the foreign minister. But it lacked conviction. Wong has been joining her colleagues in a disingenuous waltz over Israel for over two years, and they look beleaguered; Australians want them to sit down.

Letting the cat out of the bag in the case of the Herzog visit is a comical understatement to the serious ramifications of Labor’s handling of the post-Bondi tragedy environment. It exemplifies its entire stewardship of the country since Israel began flexing its power and influence to pursue exclusive interests involving regional war and ethnic cleansing. Hiding behind an unimpressive neoliberal policy platform, knee-deep in the quicksand of the Israel/US imperium as a core vassal, and laden with the ugly complicity and hypocrisy of supporting actions in Gaza, the Albanese government has damaged the resting heartbeat of the nation, shocking the population into a social arrhythmia that many would have to ask their grandparents about for comparable times in Australia’s short history.

The Albanese government, studded with senior figures who have taken trips to Israel alongside Herzog and forever motivated by political metrics, may feel that appeasing Israel is prudent. With the coalition in capitulation and the country’s political opposition divided, Albanese and the faceless policymakers may think this is a compromise they can make over a population now starved for any political alternative. But the streets heave, the population revolts, and Australians lose another chunk of the social contract as they watch their leaders act like turkeys to prop up Herzog.

“At a time when they are feeling isolated from world opinion… this is a reaffirmation” – UN Humanitarian Lawyer Chris Sidoti

Resistance and Reckoning

Herzog leaves the country with a total victory, while Albanese and the Zionist premiers hand us back a country that will never be the same. Chris Minns sheepishly owned up to the police actions, saying in no uncertain terms that they received his government’s instructions and refusing to apologise. But as the smoke settles and Minns returns to governing between the lines of a secular Australian premier again, he may find his name is the bane of many. The monopoly of violence was modified to allow kettling of Australians protesting the outrageous invitation of Herzog, and that is not going away.

At the Sydney rally, in a city that felt occupied, Grace Tame—former Australian of the Year—echoed a line to the crowd: “From Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada.” She called out the state and federal governments that have made such statements taboo or illegal, reclaiming the term itself as ‘shaking off’—not a call to genocide, but resistance to global tyranny. Following him wherever they could, Australians saw Herzog off with chants of “resistance is justified if the people are occupied”, sending a message to him and to our governments that none of this is acceptable, whether in Gaza or Gadigal.

Our leaders have completely stuffed this up, and nothing short of a national apology will prevent a worsening impact. Australians don’t deserve this storm imposed on our society by a government captured by foreign interests, and we don’t want to hand over the country we have built to leaders working for the interests of a nation that is killing innocents and threatening war. Only by reclaiming our sovereignty and demanding accountability can we begin to heal the deep divisions this visit has exposed and ensure such subservience never again tears at the fabric of our nation.