President headlines moving evening of reflection

“We have come here not simply to tell you we are with you, but to show you that we are with you,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told a packed ICC Sydney Theatre on Monday night.

The evening of unity, family and peace – held in contrast to hate-fuelled protests against his visit that raged just blocks away – was part of busy schedule that also involved laying a wreath and special stones at Bondi Pavilion on Monday morning and a special assembly at Moriah College on Tuesday.

“In the wake of the horror at Bondi Beach, we felt we must come to Australia to look you in the eye. To show up for you,” Herzog said on Monday night. “We have come to be with you, just as you have always shown up for us.

“We will never forget the people we lost, the wounds that were suffered, the families that grieve. And we will never forget the extraordinary ordinary people, who demonstrated courage and humanity, by running towards the fire to rescue strangers.”

The President said the hatred that triggered the Bondi terrorist attack “is the very same, age-old, plague of antisemitism endured by our parents and grandparents”.

“It began long before October 7, generations before even the State of Israel was born. Yet somehow the October 7 massacre, the greatest mass murder of Jews since the Shoah, emboldened closeted antisemites, here in Australia and around the world,” he said.

Herzog said Australian Jewry “has been with us in our greatest hours of need”.

“This community is inspirational in its connection to Israel, in its proactive Zionism,” he said.

Herzog also paid tribute to all those who helped in the aftermath of the massacre.

“To all the heroes of Bondi, those who lent a hand, those who prayed for their wounded neighbours, those who gave blood, those who brought flowers and wrote letters, those who sent a meal, those who embraced this incredible community – each and every one of you has the deep admiration, the respect and the prayers of the Israeli people– for you are the finest of Australia,” he said.

“And I am here also to re-invigorate the important relations between our two strong democracies. I know that by working together we will find the way to expand collaboration and increase understanding and upgrade our relations.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns thanked the President “for your warm and empathetic embrace of the victims of Bondi”.

“I and the rest of Australia saw this morning that it meant so much to have you grieve with them, coming from 10,000 kilometres away, and yet a member of their family,” he said.

“It is our sincere hope that this is a step towards healing and a world without hatred or fear, a world of hope and of peace.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said it was a “tragic irony” that the support the Australian Jewish community offered to the people of Israel immediate after October 7 “would ultimately need to be reciprocated”.

“Those who had the audacity to claim that President Herzog’s visit would lead to more antisemitism or undermine social cohesion are the same people who have poured fuel on the fire of antisemitism over the past two years, or who haven’t uttered a word as antisemitism has run rampant,” he observed.

Sheina Gutnick, the daughter of Reuven Morrison, who was murdered while trying to stop one of the Bondi gunmen, made an impassioned speech about her father’s legacy.

Jewish university student Mimi Baron paid tribute to the victims of the December 14 attack and to the strength of the community with a haunting spoken word composition.

Delivering the Acknowledge-ment of Country at the start of the evening, former Olympian and Senator Nova Peris said, “We shall never forget the beautiful, innocent lives taken in the Chanukah terror attack here on Australian soil.

“From one ancient people to another, I say this: We see you, we stand with you, and we welcome you to this ancient continent under the southern sky.”

Earlier on Monday at Bondi Pavilion, Herzog declared the current rise in antisemitism around the world “a global emergency” as he laid a wreath and two stones from Jerusalem in memory of the 15 people killed in the December 14, 2025 terror attack.

Herzog, accompanied by first lady Michal Herzog, was joined by Minns and Waverley mayor Will Nemesh, who also laid wreaths.

“These stones from Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, will remain here at Bondi for eternity in sacred memory of the victims and as a reminder that the bonds between good people of all faiths and all nations will continue to hold strong in the face of terror, violence and hatred,” Herzog said.

“These vile terrorists specifically and deliberately targeted our sisters and brothers, Australian Jews. Yet this was also an attack on all Australians.”

He emphasised that antisemitism in Australia was not solely a Jewish problem. “It is an Australian problem and a global problem,” he said.

“Over the generations, one thing has become clear: hatred that starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.”

He welcomed steps taken by the Australian government to tackle antisemitism since the Bondi attack, but called for more action.

“Leaders across all sectors of society must speak out clearly and consistently against antisemitism because silence in the face of hatred is complicity,” he said.

Herzog said his visit was meant to “express solidarity, friendship and love” and represented “an opportunity to upgrade the relations between Israel and Australia”.

On Tuesday morning at Moriah, Herzog and the First Lady were welcomed by a line of students waving flags and singing “Am Yisrael chai” before a special assembly where pupils asked him a range of questions.

Kesser Torah College student Shlomo Levitan, the son of Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who was killed in the Chanukah terror attack, thanked the Herzogs “for coming across the world to be with us”.

“Throughout history, the answer whenever an enemy rises up against us is to have unity and to care for one’s fellow Jew,” Levitan said.

“This is what we have tried to share with our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael after October 7, and this is what we have now received in return. This is why for us as a community, your visit, Mr President, means so much.”

Asked by a student how young Jews in the Diaspora can contribute to Israel’s story, Herzog said, “Stand up, look them in the eye, don’t be afraid. We are not going to budge. On the contrary, we are proud of our Jewish identity, Zionist identity. We are proud of Israel, our nation state, and we insist on moving on together.”