A group of rank-and-file Labor party members has urged the Albanese government to rescind its invitation for the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to visit Australia, voicing outrage over his country’s military bombardment of Gaza.

In signs of further strain inside the Labor movement over the war in the Middle East and the response to the alleged antisemitic terror attack at Bondi beach, the Labor Friends of Palestine group said that, if Herzog does travel to Australia, federal police should investigate him for his role in what they alleged was incitement of genocide – an outcome international law experts say is unlikely to occur.

Labor Friends of Palestine – which says it has more than 1,000 grassroots members across Australia and which had agitated internally for the federal government to recognise a Palestinian state – called for Herzog’s invitation to be cancelled. A collection of smaller Jewish community groups – including the Jewish Council of Australia, Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney and Anti-Zionism Australia – also wrote to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, this week calling for Herzog’s invitation to be retracted, claiming his visit risked “exacerbating racism and antisemitism” because he was “not a neutral or ceremonial head of state”.

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Other mainstream Jewish community groups have welcomed Herzog’s visit. Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has said he looked forward to Herzog’s visit bringing “tremendous comfort to the families” of Bondi victims and “hopefully a reset of the bilateral relationship”.

Albanese said on 24 December that he had requested the governor general, Sam Mostyn, formally invite Herzog to visit in early 2026, after the attack on Jewish Australians at a Bondi beach Hanukah festival.

Herzog is Israel’s head of state, as opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu, who wields executive power as the nation’s prime minister. Albanese said at the time it was “entirely appropriate for the head of state to visit”, indicating he had not invited Netanyahu. Herzog, writing on social media, accepted the government’s invitation, and said he had also been invited by the Zionist Federation of Australia to join the Jewish community on his visit.

Labor Friends of Palestine claimed Herzog had “actively supported and enabled a long list of the gravest violations of international law” during the Gaza bombardment, claiming he “works hand-in-hand” with Netanyahu, who is subject to international criminal court arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC has not issued an arrest warrant for Herzog.

The group’s statement pointed to Herzog’s 2023 statement that “it is an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the 7 October attacks on Israel, and a United Nations commission’s conclusion in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. That commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, stated that Herzog, Netanyahu and then defence minister Yoav Gallant “have incited the commission of genocide”.

Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the commission’s report, calling it “distorted and false” and claiming it “relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods”.

Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the international court of justice a “form of blood libel” and pushed back on criticism of his 2023 comments, claiming he had been taken out of context, and noting he had said in the same media appearance that Israel would respect international law and there was no excuse for the killing of innocent civilians. The ICJ is yet to issue its final ruling.

The Israeli embassy in Canberra, and Albanese’s office, were contacted for comment.

Donald Rothwell, professor of international law at the Australian National University, said it was highly unlikely the government would take such actions. He noted Herzog had been explicitly invited to visit by the government itself, and in any case there was no publicly announced ICC arrest warrant for Herzog – unlike Netanyahu – meaning Australia was under no obligation to take legal action against Herzog under international law.

“However, the major issue is that he’s a sitting head of state, and unquestionably enjoys head of state immunity. Under that, he’s not subject to Australian law or prosecution for crimes he may have committed within or outside Australia,” Rothwell said.

The letter from smaller Jewish organisations claimed there would be “mass protests … [including] a very large contingent of Jewish participants” if Herzog visited.

Shamikh Badra, a Palestinian Australian man who has lost seven family members in the conflict in Gaza, has written a formal complaint about Herzog’s visit to the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, calling on the government to assess its obligations under the UN genocide convention, which include the prevention and punishment of genocide.

In the letter, seen by Guardian Australia, Badra said he was writing to the government “as a person directly and gravely affected by the events in Gaza”.

“I have lost seven members of my family as a result of the ongoing military assault on Gaza, including my father, my brother, his four children, and his wife. To this day, their remains have not been recovered,” he wrote. Burke has been contacted for comment.

Monique Cormier, associate professor at Monash University law school, said the government was not required to respond to the complaint under international law, agreeing with Rothwell that Herzog would be protected by head of state immunity against legal action.

“In inviting him here or having him here, there’s a possibility that Australia could be in breach of its obligations under the genocide convention to prevent and punish genocide, but it’s unlikely that this would go anywhere.”

Cormier said asking the AFP to investigate Herzog during his visit was not possible.

“That’s definitely something they cannot do,” she said, saying the AFP would require the attorney general’s consent. “The high court has made that really clear.”

Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation, criticised calls to rescind Herzog’s invitation, calling it a “troubling escalation in rhetoric” which overlooked Australia’s longstanding relationship with Israel.

“The government’s invitation to President Herzog is an appropriate and important gesture of solidarity with Australians following the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil,” he said.

“Calls by groups such as Labor Friends of Palestine to rescind the invitation, or for police to investigate a visiting ceremonial head of state, are not grounded in fact or law.”