(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, as part of his ongoing official visit to Australia, President Isaac Herzog visited Moriah College in Sydney, where he was warmly greeted by hundreds of school pupils.
president herzog and the First Lady, Michal Herzog, then held a Q&A session with local Jewish high school students. During the discussion, president herzog and the students addressed the rising tide of antisemitism in Australia and the Bondi Beach terror attack and its aftermath, relations between Israel and Australia, and the unique contribution of Australian Jewry to the State of Israel. The President encouraged the Jewish students to take pride in their Jewish identity and their deep connection to Israel.
President Herzog’s remarks:
On the rise of antisemitism in Australia:
“In Australia, there has been a huge wave of antisemitism that we haven’t seen before, and historically, we never expected to happen in Australia. My recommendation to all of us collectively is to 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 and our Zionist identity. We are proud of Israel, our nation-state, and we insist on moving forward together.”
On Israel-Australia relations and anti-Israel protests in Australia:
“Historically, the contribution of Australia to Israel’s founding and the homecoming of the Jews to their ancient homeland is enormous. Ever since, Israel has been a bipartisan issue in your politics. Clearly, something bad has happened in the last generation, and it has become deep-seated, and it has to be met.
“With the current government, we had our ups and downs. We have many arguments about how they view Israeli policy, not understanding at times that we are defending ourselves in one of our most difficult moments against jihadi Islamist extremism and the Iranian empire of evil which threatens the entire world. We see ourselves as defending and protecting the free world. We were heavily criticized at times, and yet we have an open and frank dialogue.
“I’m going to meet with the Prime Minister in Canberra tomorrow and meet with your body politic. My effort in this visit is to bring relations back on track, upgrade them, and improve them, and try to bring Israel into the focus of being a bipartisan issue.
“I know that the demonstrators and protesters who are cursing us, saying the biggest lies and affirmations against our nation, do not want to hear this, but I believe that the silent majority of Australians definitely want to hear and move back on track.”
On the contribution of the Australian Jewish community to the State of Israel:
“Despite its relatively small size, the Australian Jewish community has a huge impact in Israel. It is amazing that from far, far away, there’s so much love and affection that comes from the wonderful Jewish education system that you have here that keeps this community resilient and strong from generation to generation.”
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