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A protester is helped after police deployed pepper spray to disperse anti-Israel protesters during a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentAustralia’s Prime Minister said Tuesday he was “devastated” by scenes of clashes at a Sydney rally against a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, but defended the police’s actions against protesters.

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Herzog’s tightly secured, four-day trip aims to console Australia’s Jewish community after the December shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival.

Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article contentBut chaos erupted on Monday evening in the heart of Australia’s largest city as police tried to prevent a rally from marching into an area designated off-limits.

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Law enforcement hit protesters and members of the media, including AFP, with pepper spray in rarely-seen violent scuffles in Sydney’s central business district.

Asked about the scenes, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told local radio he was “devastated” to see the violence.

“These are really scenes that I think shouldn’t be taking place,” he said.

“People should be able to express their views peacefully, but the police were very clear about the routes that were required if people wanted to march,” he added.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the police had been placed in “incredibly difficult circumstances”.

Police and anti-Israel protesters clash during a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesArticle contentNot far from the protests, he noted, Herzog had been taking part in an event for the victims of the December 14 killings alongside thousands of mourners.

Minns said it would have been a “disaster” if protesters had been allowed to march near that event.

New South Wales police have said they arrested 27 people at the rallies, including 10 for assaulting law enforcement, and have confirmed they deployed pepper spray against the crowd.

But they have sparked outrage with a video circulating on social media showing Muslim men praying near Sydney’s Town Hall being pushed and shoved by the police.

'Islamic State ideology' drove Bondi Beach shooters, Australia PM says 'We will not give in to terror': Canadian leaders react to deadly Hanukkah attack in Australia Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});Article contentHerzog’s visit is expected to last until Thursday.

On Tuesday he is expected to meet with the families of victims of the Bondi attack — the deadliest against Jews since Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Many Jewish Australians have welcomed Herzog’s trip.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at an event titled ‘An Evening of Light & Solidarity’ for the victims of the Dec. 14, 2025 gun attack in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by David Gray/AFP via Getty ImagesArticle content“His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community,” said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community’s peak body.

But some in the community disagreed, with the progressive Jewish Council of Australia saying he was not welcome because of his alleged role in the “ongoing destruction of Gaza.”

The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found last year that Herzog was liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians — “an entire nation” — were responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel.

Israel has “categorically” rejected the inquiry’s report, describing it as “distorted and false” and calling for the body’s abolition.

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