Australian police charge 19-year-old for online death threats against Israeli President Herzog

Police in Australia have charged a 19-year-old individual for online threats to kill Israeli President Isaac Herzog ahead of his upcoming visit to Australia.

Police confirmed in an official statement that the threats were posted on social media last month against “a foreign head of state and an internationally protected person.” While not explicitly naming Herzog, Australian media reported that threats were made against the Israeli president. The serious offense could potentially lead to a penalty of up to 10 years in jail. 

The Australian government officially invited Herzog after two Islamist terrorists massacred 15 Jews in December at a Hanukkah celebration event at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. Diplomatic relations between Australia and Israel have been strained after the Australian government unilaterally recognized a State of Palestine last year and strongly criticized Israel’s self-defense operations against the terrorist militia Hamas in Gaza. 

The decision to invite Herzog likely signals an Australian interest in mending ties with Jerusalem. Speaking on the phone with the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Bondi Beach massacre, Herzog stressed the importance to combat the rise of antisemitism in Australian society since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

"The importance of taking all legal measures to combat the unprecedented rise in antisemitism, extremism, and jihadist terror," Herzog said during the conversation. 

Anti-Israel voices in Australia have called on their government to cancel Herzog's visit. However, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles stressed that the Israeli president would receive the same security as all foreign leaders visiting the country. 

“He will be a welcomed and honored guest,” Marles said in an interview with ABC News.

The Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli who visited Australia in December after the Bondi Beach terror attack, criticized the Australian government for its failure to stop the wave of antisemitism sweeping across the country. Chikli also visited some of the wounded victims in the attack including the Australian Israeli human rights activist Arsen Ostrovsky. 

“Let our cowardly enemies – ‘brave’ only against unarmed civilians, women, the elderly, and children, hear this clearly: you will not defeat us. You will not wipe the smiles from our faces. And you will not extinguish the light of this holiday,” Chikli wrote in a social media post with a picture together with Ostrovsky in hospital. 

Australia was until recently considered a safe haven for Jews and other minorities. The country is home to some 100,000 Jews and a growing Muslim community of nearly one million people. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents surged following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

Anti-Jewish attacks increased by a staggering 700%, according to an April 2025 report. As in much of the Western world, radicalized Muslims and far-left activists have played a leading role in the spread of antisemitism in Australia.

Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, has criticized the Australian government’s mishandling of the antisemitism threat in Australian society. He noted that Australian Jews who generally identify with Israel, feel increasingly uncomfortable in displaying their Jewish identity in public due to anti-Jewish threats. 

“When an Australian Jew can be labeled a ‘genocide supporter’ simply for being Zionist, that’s just another form of antisemitism. The reality is that in today’s Australia, being openly Jewish and Zionist comes with a social cost. Some prefer to hide or downplay their identity, which is deeply troubling and will shape the future of Jewish life here,” Leibler warned last year.