There are “deep concerns” about Labor MP Ed Husic The upcoming visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzogsaid it was difficult to reconcile notions of social cohesion with the 2023 image of the leader signing off on an artillery shell to be dropped on Gaza.
Husick said he did not believe it was a good decision for his Labor government to invite Herzog to visit Australia in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
He defended the right of Australians to peacefully protest against the Israeli government’s actions in relation to the bombing of Gaza, saying it was “disingenuous” to link major protests against the war with the Bondi shootings on a Jewish holiday.
“I’m very uncomfortable about this visit, President Herzog said some things on October 7 that tried to convey the responsibility of staying home to the entire population,” Husik told Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast.
“It got the attention of the International Court of Justice. And you got indictments from the International Criminal Court.
“It’s hard for me to reconcile his vision of signing bombs on Palestinian homes with a sense of social cohesion. So from that perspective, I’ve obviously got deep concerns.”
South Africa brought genocide charges against Israel before the International Court of Justice, but the court A verdict is yet to come.
The International Criminal Court has issued separate arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant. Allegations of war crimes.
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No warrant was issued for Herzog.
Herzog will visit Australia next week at the invitation of Governor-General Sam Mostyn to meet with Jewish communities following the December 2025 Hanukkah attack in Bondi, which killed 15 people.
Herzog holds executive power as the country’s prime minister, as opposed to Israel’s head of state, Netanyahu.
Asked if it was wrong for the government to invite Herzog to visit, Husik said: “I have a different opinion and my opinion is that I don’t think it’s a good decision, but it’s going to happen. There’s nothing I can say about that.”
Albanese said it was “absolutely appropriate for a head of state to visit” Australia after the Bondi attack, but Herzog’s visit would be met with Protests from pro-Palestinian groups A growing number of politicians – inside and outside Labor – are concerned about Israel’s war on Gaza and the resulting civilian death toll.
Critics of Herzog’s visit point to the resolution of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry in September 2025. Israel committed genocide in Gaza. The commission, which did not speak on behalf of the UN, said Herzog, Netanyahu and Gallant “instigated the commission of genocide”.
The report quoted Herzog as saying about Gaza in October 2023: “The whole country there is responsible. It’s not true, this rhetoric about uninformed and uninvolved citizens is not true. It’s absolutely not true.”
Formerly the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Refused The report called it “distorted and false” and said it was “based entirely on Hamas lies”.
Herzog Denies Incitement Charges and Calls Israel a Special Genocide Case International Court of Justice a “Blood Libel Form”. He pushed back at criticism of his comments about the Gaza war, saying they were taken out of context He said Israel respects international laws and has no excuse for killing innocent civilians.
Husik said he understood Herzog was misrepresented by the criticism leveled at him and suggested the president could use his visit to discuss lasting peace in the Middle East and a Palestinian state.
“But in the absence of that, I don’t see how his visit adds up because of concerns about his position,” Husick said. “Whether it’s part of the leadership of the country that he’s taken over, or its behavior fails to differentiate between civilians and combatants in devastating ways when you look at the number of people killed.
“The hardest thing for me is not to put the burden on the kids for what happened on Oct. 7. And there have to be leaders who can say, ‘That’s not the way to go.'”
Three state Labor MPs They said they would participate in demonstrations against Herzog, but there were concerns about the visit Raised by Federal MP Sophie Scamps and the federal Greens. The Labor Friends of Palestine Group It also asked the government to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
Gaza Health Ministry Says Palestinian Death Toll in Israel-Gaza War Passes 70,000 Said in November1,200 killed in Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 After the death of The Israelites. Israeli army The death toll has recently been acknowledged Broadly accurate.
Husik said international organizations should be allowed to investigate the conflict in Gaza and “accountability” is needed for decisions made by that campaign. He said the protests against Israel’s bombing of Gaza, which he took part in at the Sydney Harbor Bridge, had been unfairly maligned.
“I think it’s less against Australians who are genuinely concerned about what they’re seeing in Gaza and against Australians who have come out in record numbers, who have marched peacefully week after week to show the depth of their concern – which is linked to the horrific event we saw in Bondi,” he said.
