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TRANSCRIPT:
When Israeli president Isaac Herzog landed in Australia for a four-day visit, the first place he visited was Bondi.
He went there on Monday to honour those killed in a terrorism attack in December.
"I am honoured to invite His Excellency, President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and First Lady, Ms Michal Hertzog, to lay a wreath in honour of the 15 victims of the Bondi terrorist attack."
The federal government and the President have maintained the invitation was about offering comfort to the Jewish community, something Mr Herzog himself emphasised at Bondi.
"We stood with Australian Jews for we are one big family. And when one Jew is hurt all Jews feel their pain. That is why I am here today, to embrace and console the bereaved families."
This woman, Yvonne, has told SBS the visit has made a positive difference for her and the community.
"It makes us feel like we're not alone. It's such a tragedy. You never think anything like this would ever happen in Bondi, and we didn't realise how important the visit was until we just saw him and realised, actually globally we have support."
But others do not agree.
The Jewish Council has published an open letter signed by 1,000 Jewish Australians saying the Israeli President is not welcome.
President Herzog has previously said Palestinians bore collective blame for Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023.
A United Nations Human Rights Council commission of inquiry in September found the statement might reasonably have been interpreted as inciting genocide, but Mr Herzog condemned that finding, saying his comments were taken out of context.
Josh Lees, from the Palestine Action Group, says they believe he has no right to be in Australia.
"War criminals are not welcome here. To say that Isaac Herzog should be arrested and investigated for his role for inciting genocide in Gaza."
Organisers say despite not having approval for a protest, many still gathered near Sydney's Town Hall.
They say the crowd stood peacefully and chanted in between speeches from people like former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Jewish academic Antony Loewenstein, and Amnesty International Australia spokesman Mohamed Duar.
But what happened next was chaos.
As the demonstration drew to an end, the group moved towards the exit, with some trying to leave and others calling on the hundreds of surrounding police to let them march.
Protesters' chants soon grew louder and the police presence swelled.
Officers issued a move-on order but many within the immense, densely packed crowd were unclear on directions and the situation quickly deteriorated.
Police on foot and on horseback formed a front and rushed at the protesters as they attempted to disperse the group.
Others were seen beating and deploying pepper spray at attendees, including Cumberland City Councillor Ahmed Ouf.
M-P Sue Higginson posted that she saw serious police violence with her own eyes, including young women being thrown against the wall, Aboriginal people detained, and tear gas used indiscriminately.
At one point a group of Muslim men leading a prayer were ripped from their knees and taken away by police.
Media, including photographers and those with press passes displayed, were forcibly pushed away from the scene by officers.
27 people were ultimately arrested in the chaotic scenes.
Palestine Action Group Sydney has condemned the incident in a social media post, accusing the police of refusing to respect their right to protest.
The Australian National Imams Council ((ANIC)) has released a statement also condemning the violence.
"Police are entrusted to protect the community, uphold public safety and de-escalate tensions, not to interfere with religious worship or inflame an already sensitive situation. ANIC is outraged by the footage and has raised urgent and serious concerns directly with the NSW Police Commissioner."
The Islamophobia Register has also responded, saying it is outraged and disgusted.
But Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna has made no apologies.
He said he was disappointed in protest organisers, alleging they incited the crowd to march in the city in breach of the law.
"I can understand why people looking at them might be quite concerned. I can understand why one video in particular... might be offensive. Police didn't go out there looking for a fight. Police didn't go out there looking for violence."
The Israeli President himself has also criticised the protests, saying they are not justified.
"These demonstrations, in most cases, what you hear and see comes to undermine and delegitimise our right - my nation's right, the nation which I am the head of state of - of its mere existence, and is contradictory to whatever was said and done by Australia."
Anthony Albanese, for his part, has said he's devastated by what happened at the Sydney protest.
He's told Triple M Hobart that people should be allowed to protest peacefully - but police were also very clear about the routes that the protesters were required to take.
But Greens Senator David Shoebridge says governments are ultimately accountable.
"Violence that was created by two Labor leaders: Prime Minister Albanese for inviting President Herzog, who he must have known made statements in support of genocide, and signed bombs. And Premier Chris Minns in NSW, who decided to respond to a peaceful protest with massive police operations, unparallelled police powers. And we saw that violence play out on the streets of Sydney."
