‘New beginning’: Isaac Herzog says trip to Australia has been opportunity to reset relationship

Israeli President Isaac Herzog says his trip to Australia in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre has helped to reset the fractured relationship between the two long-time allies.

Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, both leaders stressed the importance of the visit to allow the Jewish community to grieve the loss of 15 innocent lives in the nation’s worst terrorist attack.

Mr Herzog said it had been a “very emotional” trip and expressed his “heartfelt condolences” to Jewish-Australians in their grief, while Mr Albanese thanked him for “providing comfort” to a hurting community.

Mr Albanese will hope Mr Herzog’s statement of hope for a “new beginning and a better future” will draw a line under months of tension between the two nations following Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly suggested that recognition had “poured fuel” on anti-Semitism in Australia and linked it to the violence at Bondi Beach on December 14.

But Mr Herzog struck a far more conciliatory tone, offering Mr Albanese an olive branch by talking about a shared mission to confront anti-Semitism.

“This visit has been very emotional. You know when one Jew is hurt anywhere around the world we in Israel ache and our heart misses a beat,” he said.

“It is also an opportunity to bring the relations between our nations to a new beginning and a better future.

“I think the relations between us do not depend only on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians and the conflict, but has a much broader base, and we should together make sure that it’s uplifted to new directions.”

Mr Albanese used the closed-door face-to-face on Wednesday afternoon as an opportunity to raise his concerns over the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and press for an outcome of the investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

“It’s also been an opportunity for us to engage on issues,” Mr Albanese said, while flanking Mr Herzog in the Prime Minister’s courtyard.

“I look forward to a further discussion about the Middle East.

“We in Australia want to see peace in the Middle East, we want to see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, in peace and security as we go forward.”

The leaders meeting was just one of a string of engagements Mr Herzog held on Wednesday, including meetings with Speaker Milton Dick and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

The president had earlier been welcomed by a ceremonial 21-gun salute by the Federation Guard at Government House by Governor General Sam Mostyn.

Ms Mostyn said she was “delighted” to welcome Mr Herzog alongside his wife Michal and presented a photo of Mr Herzog’s father Chaim Herzog during his trip to Australia in 1986, where he stayed at Government House.

“I think it’s terribly important your visit stands with those who are grieving,” she said.

The engagement was attended by several politicians including senior politicians including Sussan Ley, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Speaker Milton Dick and Jewish MP Mark Dreyfus, as well as Australia’s special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal.

Ms Ley said she had discussed how to “strengthen our alliance” during her sit down with the President.

“President Herzog’s visit to Australia is an important opportunity to reset and strengthen a strained bilateral relationship,” she said.

“At moments like this, mature leadership calls for co-operation, respect and a reaffirmation of shared democratic values. This visit provides a constructive platform to rebuild trust and deepen engagement.

“It is deeply disappointing to see protests surrounding this visit in the aftermath of a national tragedy.

“While peaceful protest is a democratic right, the timing and tone of these demonstrations risk compounding division at a moment that calls for unity and reflection.

“The focus right now should be on supporting victims and their families, rejecting antisemitism in all its forms and reinforcing the social cohesion that underpins our nation. That’s what we’re determined to do”.

Just a handful of pro-Palestinian activists were in Canberra to protest Mr Herzog’s presence, a far cry from the chaos in Sydney which marred his trip so far.

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi was among that small number. She accused Mr Herzog of being a “war criminal” and condemned Mr Albanese for offering an invitation to the head of state of Australia’s ally.

“The Prime Minister is going to warmly welcome and shake the hand of a war criminal in here today who has signed … and autographed bombs which will kill Palestinians,” she told the crowd.

Other politicians at the protest included WA independent Senator Fatima Payman and Greens members David Shoebridge, Larissa Waters, Barbara Pocock and Steph Hodgins-May

Independent Senator David Pocock also attended and said the Government should “admit this was a mistake” given the Israeli President’s visit had further fractured social cohesion.

Inside Parliament, Independent MP Sophie Scamps declared she wouldn’t sit in Question Time as a protest of Mr Herzog’s visit to Australia.

Ms Scamps said in a statement she “deeply disagrees” with the visit and warned that the invitation “normalises the atrocities that have occurred in Gaza over the past two years”.

Mr Albanese has previously called for the Greens to “turn the temperature down” on the national debate, insisting to protesters that Mr Herzog’s state visit is important to allow the Jewish community to heal in the wake of the sickening Bondi massacre.

“He is here primarily to provide comfort for people who not only need, but they deserve it, at this time,” Mr Albanese said during Question Time on Tuesday.

“It is appropriate that he be here at this time, and it’s appropriate that people understand the context, which is there, a community which is hurting, a community which is reaching out.

“We need to turn the temperature down, and the Greens political party needs to be a part of turning that temperature down, rather than up.”

The PM had joined Mr Herzog at the Chabad Bondi synagogue on Tuesday night after violence erupted during thousands-strong protests in Sydney targeted at the President on Monday night.

Mr Herzog is expected to travel to Melbourne on Thursday.