A 19-year-old Australian has been charged with allegedly making online death threats against President Isaac Herzog ahead of the president's visit to Australia, Reuters reports.
The Australian Federal Police said the 19-year-old posted threats last month on a social media platform "towards a foreign head of state and internationally protected person." The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
Police did not identify the target, but Australian media widely reported that the threats were directed at Herzog. The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that the suspect allegedly made threats against US President Donald Trump.
The suspect was refused police bail and is scheduled to appear in a Sydney court on Thursday, according to Reuters. Police said they seized a mobile phone and equipment for making or using drugs during a search at a home in Sydney on Wednesday.
President Herzog is expected to arrive in Australia on Sunday for a five-day visit, following an invitation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the terrorist shooting at Bondi Beach in December.
Herzog is set to meet survivors and families of the victims of the December 14 attack at a Hanukkah celebration, which killed 15 people.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Herzog would receive the standard security arrangements provided to all visiting foreign leaders. "He will be a welcomed and honored guest," Marles told ABC News.
Even before the Hanukkah massacre in Sydney, Australia had seen a sharp wave of antisemitism, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
Days after the arson at Adass Israel, a car was set on fire, and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population.
In another incident, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
In early 2025, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall.