Australia has charged a 19-year-old man with allegedly making online death threats against Israeli President Isaac Herzog as Sydney prepares for protests and heightened security ahead of the Israeli leader’s visit, Reuters reported.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the teenager allegedly posted threats on a social media platform last month “towards a foreign head of state and an internationally protected person”, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Police have not publicly identified the target, but Australian media have widely reported the alleged threats against Herzog. The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that the teenager had allegedly threatened US President Donald Trump.
The man was refused police bail and will appear in court in Sydney on Thursday. Police said they seized a mobile phone and drug paraphernalia during a search of a house in Sydney on Wednesday.
The AFP charge comes days before Herzog’s arrival in Australia
Herzog is expected to land in Australia on Sunday to begin a five-day program that includes meetings with federal leaders and members of Sydney’s Jewish community.
The visit follows an invitation by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following the fatal shooting at Bondi Beach on December 14, when 15 people were killed during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.
Herzog is expected to meet survivors and families of the attack victims during commemorations in Sydney.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Herzog would be treated in accordance with security protocols for visiting leaders.
“He will be a welcome and honored guest,” Marles told ABC News on Thursday.
Why Isaac Herzog’s visit to Sydney became politically contentious
While some Jewish organizations described Herzog’s visit as a gesture of solidarity amid rising anti-Semitism, the trip also drew sharp criticism from pro-Palestinian groups and some Jewish Australians who oppose Israeli actions in Gaza.
Herzog’s arrival sparked planned protests in major cities, including Sydney, where organizers called for a “massive, peaceful assembly”.
The Palestine Action Group (PAG) has called on supporters to rally and march to the New South Wales state parliament on Monday, despite restrictions limiting organizers’ ability to get permission to move demonstrations.
New South Wales Police expanded the restrictions this week, citing “significant animosity” from some groups ahead of the Israeli president’s visit.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon defended the decision, saying public safety must take priority.
“With freedom of speech comes responsibility, this is a time for calm, this is a time for the community to come together,” Lanyon said.
Although the declaration does not explicitly ban protests, it restricts organizers from obtaining a formal permit, which can protect them from arrest for obstructing roads or pedestrians. Demonstrators can also be given movement direction even if they are participating in a static demonstration.
Herzog’s supporters say the visit is a “powerful message of solidarity”
The trip was supported by a number of prominent Jewish bodies and advocacy organisations, including the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
AIJAC chief executive Colin Rubenstein described the visit as significant for the community following the Bondi attack and the wider climate of anti-Semitism.
“The visit comes at a particularly important time for Australia’s Jewish community following the tragic events in Bondi and the rise of anti-Semitism across the country, offering a powerful message of solidarity and support,” Rubenstein said in a statement.
He added that Herzog’s presence would be part of a wider community recovery, saying it was a “necessary part of the healing process” and that he was “very confident” AIJAC represented “the vast majority of Australian Jews when it says as much”.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler also claimed the visit would provide reassurance.
He said Herzog’s visit “will bring comfort to those who are grieving and reassurance to a community living in fear.”
Critics say the invitation risks linking Jewish identity to Israel’s war in Gaza
But opposition to the visit is not limited to pro-Palestinian activists.
The progressive Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) criticized the invitation, saying it risked instrumentalizing the grief over the Bondi attack, while Israel faces international legal scrutiny over its conduct in Gaza.
JCA Executive Director Sarah Schwartz said: “Inviting a foreign head of state who is implicated in ongoing genocide as a representative of the Jewish community is deeply offensive and risks entrenching a dangerous and anti-Semitic connection between Jewish identity and the actions of the Israeli state.”
The JCA is among several religious and legal groups that have written to AFP, Home Secretary Tony Burke and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to launch a criminal investigation into Herzog’s rhetoric, which they say amounts to incitement.
Who is Isaac Herzog? Israeli President and former Labor leader
Herzog entered the Knesset in 2003 as a member of Israel’s Labor Party and later led the party from 2013 to 2018. He also led the Zionist Union alliance in the 2015 elections, which failed to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In 2021, the Knesset elected Herzog president—a role that is largely ceremonial but carries significant symbolic influence as the head of the Israeli state and supposed figure of national unity.
He succeeded his father, Chaim Herzog, who was president from 1983 to 1993.
Although the presidency is not an executive office, Herzog has often echoed the stance of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition during the Gaza war.
Herzog’s Gaza commentary under international scrutiny
Herzog faced sustained criticism for public remarks following the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the current war.
In the days after the attack, Herzog said, “The whole nation is responsible”.
In September, the United Nations’ independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and said that Herzog, Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “incited the Genocide Commission” in their speeches and statements.
The commission said Herzog’s comments were not a literal call for genocide, but could reasonably be interpreted — in the context of Israel’s military response — as incitement to target Palestinians in Gaza as a group.
Herzog strongly denied the allegation, saying his remarks were taken out of context.
In December 2023, Herzog was also photographed writing the message “I’m counting on you” on an artillery shell intended for use in Gaza – an image that was repeatedly cited by critics as a symbol of political support for the campaign.
Israel categorically rejected the COI’s findings as “distorted and false”.
Israel is separately defending the genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered interim measures but has yet to issue a final ruling.
Controversy over claims of famine in Gaza adds to the controversy
Israel’s Herzog also disputed the assessment of starvation in Gaza.
Israel’s president rejected an “irrefutable” declaration of starvation in Gaza by the Famine Control Committee in the UN-backed Integrated Food Security phase, arguing that “vast amounts” of aid were arriving in the territory via trucks and airdrops.
Accusing the UN of misdistributing aid and Hamas of controlling supplies, Herzog reiterated Israel’s position that there is an “artificial shortage” of aid reaching the Strip.
Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it has the right to defend itself and maintains an “unwavering commitment” to international law.
Protests planned across Australia during Herzog’s visit
As Herzog’s visit approaches, organizers have called for nationwide protests against his official trip.
In Sydney, a planned PAG march from City Hall to State Parliament would pass through a restricted protest zone, creating a likely legal and operational flashpoint for police.
Commissioner Lanyon said he had not been politically pressured to extend the restrictions, but acknowledged the Israeli visit was among the factors being considered.
The Albanians, meanwhile, called on the public to “recognize the ceremonial nature of the visit” and “keep in mind how they will react in the coming weeks”.