Herzog tells Jewish students to carry identity with pride

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog were welcomed by hundreds of students at Moriah College on Tuesday as part of the President’s official visit to Australia, delivering a clear message of pride, resilience and connection to Israel amid rising antisemitism.

Around 1000 students from five Jewish day schools gathered for the visit, representing around a quarter of Jewish day school enrolments in Sydney. The event included a wide-ranging question and answer session led by high school students, addressing antisemitism in Australia, the Bondi terror attack and its aftermath, Israel–Australia relations, and the contribution of Australian Jewry to Israel.

The President and his wife were welcomed to the school with a parade of students from Moriah, Emanuel, Masada, Kesser Torah and Mount Sinai. They walked through an avenue of flags, talking to excited children and giving them high fives before entering the school auditorium.

The gathering began with a series of emotional addresses. Shlomo Levitan from Kesser Torah spoke of his father, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, who was murdered at Bondi. Zacky (Isaac) Vanunu, who was having his bar mitzvah at Bondi on 14 December, introduced a video about the terror of the experience.

At the start of the event, President Herzog thanked Moriah College and the visiting schools, switching his kippah to a Moriah College kippah to mark his appreciation for the host school.

“This is an amazing educational institution,” he said. “We are very impressed by what we see here and grateful to the principals, teachers, supporters and to all of you, the students, who came to honour us.”

Michal Herzog reflected on her own memories of Australia, recalling that she had accompanied her parents-in-law during President Chaim Herzog’s 1986 visit.

“I remember every single minute of that visit,” she said. “The world was very different then, with much less security, but it was very moving. We hope you will remember every positive moment from this visit.”

The President noted the symbolic continuity between the two visits, observing that thousands of Australian Jewish students had travelled to Israel in the decades since his father encouraged young Jews to help shape Israel’s future.

During the discussion, President Herzog spoke directly about the surge in antisemitism faced by Jewish students 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 here,” he said. “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.”

He urged students to remain confident in who they are.

“On the contrary, we are proud of our Jewish identity and our Zionist identity,” Herzog said. “We are proud of Israel, our nation-state, and we insist on moving forward together.”

Students from each school came forward to ask questions of the President and the First Lady. Jasmine, a Year 10 student, asked how Israel could move forward after October 7, the prolonged war with Hamas and the recent return of the final hostage.

Herzog described the period as the most difficult in Israel’s history.

“We have gone through agony, pain and sorrow, both on the national and the personal level,” he said. “Only now are we really beginning to deal with the healing process.”

He likened Israeli society to an individual recovering from trauma.

“A society is like a human being,” he said. “There is pain, anger, fear and confusion. The challenge now is how we heal and move forward together.”

While acknowledging Israel’s culture of debate, Herzog stressed the need for cohesion.

“I don’t say unanimity. I say unity,” he said. “My role and my hope is to keep the nation under the same canopy as we move forward.”

Another question came from Dean, a Year 11 student, who asked about the relationship between Israel and the Jewish diaspora.

Herzog described the bond as vital but requiring constant effort.

“We are a small nation, about 15 to 20 million Jews in a world of eight billion people,” he said. “The secret is getting to know each other better.”

He emphasised the role of Jewish education, school exchanges and Israel programs in maintaining that connection.

“That is why Jewish education matters so much,” he said. “Those who have been to Israel carry that experience for their entire lives.”

President Herzog also addressed relations between Israel and Australia, including recent tensions and anti-Israel protests.

“Historically, the contribution of Australia to Israel’s founding and the homecoming of the Jews to their ancient homeland is enormous,” he said. “For decades, Israel was a bipartisan issue in your politics, and that matters greatly.”

He acknowledged disagreements with the current Australian government but stressed the importance of open dialogue.

“We have had our ups and downs,” Herzog said. “We have many arguments about how Israeli policy is viewed, especially when we are defending ourselves in one of our most difficult moments against jihadi Islamist extremism and the Iranian empire of evil.”

He said his visit was aimed at strengthening ties.

“My effort in this visit is to bring relations back on track, upgrade them and improve them, and to bring Israel back into focus as a bipartisan issue,” he said.

Referring to protests during his visit, Herzog said they did not reflect broader public sentiment.

“I know the demonstrators who are cursing us and spreading the biggest lies do not want to hear this,” he said. “But I believe the silent majority of Australians want to move forward together.”

Herzog concluded by praising the contribution of Australian Jewry to Israel.

“Despite its relatively small size, the Australian Jewish community has a huge impact in Israel,” he said. “From far away, there is so much love and commitment coming from the Jewish education system you have here, keeping this community resilient and strong from generation to generation.”