Israel’s President Isaac Herzog will visit Australian Parliament for an official event on Tuesday, following an invitation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The fact Herzog is due to visit Parliament has not been made public by either the Australian or Israeli governments and is likely to spark significant controversy, given the political backlash to his invitation to Australia and the protests planned across the country.
Albanese invited Herzog after the Bondi terror attack and he is due to travel to Australia on February 8. He was scheduled to visit Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, but a visit to Parliament was never announced.
The trip has generated significant political and community backlash from pro-Palestine groups, the Jewish Council of Australia, human rights experts and even Labor MPs.
Federal Labor backbencher Ed Husic said he had “deep concerns” with Herzog’s visit, saying he did not believe it was a good decision.
“I’m obviously very uncomfortable about this visit, largely because President Herzog has said some things that have attempted to sheet home responsibility for October 7 to an entire population,” Husic told the Guardian Australia.
The government has defended the invitation to bring Herzog to Australia, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying it was appropriate for Israel’s head of state to meet with Australian Jews after the Bondi attack.
