Herzog’s Australia Visit Sparks Protests and Police Crackdown

Thousands of protesters filled the plaza outside the historic Town Hall in Sydney, chanting and waving flags in demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people. A few hours later some tried to march north toward the Harbour Bridge and were pushed back by lines of police in body armor acting on expanded powers.

People were shoved, pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground; police detained 27 people and charged nine, aged 19 to 67, with resisting or assaulting officers. The clashes unfolded against the backdrop of a four-day visit by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, who came to mourn 15 people killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi.

State and federal leaders had moved quickly after the attack to pass laws that expanded law-enforcement powers and criminalized certain speech, while New South Wales declared the visit a "major event" to give police extra authority. The Palestine Action Group sought to overturn that declaration and lost about an hour before the protest began.

Australia, Sydney

isaac herzog, sydney protests, town hall, harbour bridge, police crackdown, pepper-spray, 27 detained, assault charges, bondi attack, expanded powers