“Israel’s President Herzog should be arrested on arrival [to Australia] for the crime of incitement to genocide,” UN Commissioner Chris Sidoti told MWM.
Australia invites a president accused by the United Nations of inciting genocide. So what now?
When the Albanese Government quietly confirmed that Israel’s President Isaac Herzog would visit Australia from February 8-12, it framed the trip as routine diplomacy. A ceremonial head of state, a formal invitation, business as usual.
But according to one of Australia’s most senior international human rights lawyers, that framing collapses the moment Herzog steps off the plane.
“There is both a legal scope and a moral duty to arrest Isaac Herzog on arrival,” said Chris Sidoti in a live Youtube interview on The West Report. “The law is not beyond doubt [on immunity for ceremonial heads of state].”
Sidoti is no fringe activist. He is a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner and a current member of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel. That Commission has found Herzog responsible for incitement to genocide, a crime under both international law and Australia’s Criminal Code.
The immunity argument is crumbling
The Government’s implied defence is familiar; Herzog is a head of state, and heads of state enjoy immunity.
Sidoti says that principle is no longer absolute.
“In the past it’s been traditional that heads of state have immunity when travelling,” he said. “But that old principle is being gradually broken down. It is now argued by many international lawyers that head-of-state immunity
does not apply to atrocity crimes.
Those crimes include genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Incitement to genocide sits squarely within that category.
“Our commission of inquiry has found that Herzog, the President of Israel, is responsible for incitement to genocide”, Sidoti said. “That means head-of-state immunity does not apply to him when he is visiting Australia.”
That finding does not rest on Herzog’s role in military decision-making. Sidoti is clear that the Israeli presidency is largely ceremonial, comparable in some respects to Australia’s Governor General.
“For that reason, we have not found that he is responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity,” he said. “But that does not excuse him from actions he is personally responsible for. And that is where incitement to genocide arises.”
The entire nation is responsible.
The Commission’s finding turns on Herzog’s own words.
Following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, Herzog publicly blamed the entire civilian population of Gaza, saying, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.”
“And in the context of the debates going on in Israel, that longer statement that he made, in our view, constituted incitement to genocide”, Sidoti said.
“The fact that he is a ceremonial head of state does not absolve him of responsibility for words he personally has spoken.”
And the Australian Criminal Code
Under Australian law, incitement to genocide is not just an international crime.
It is a domestic offence.
“We do have provisions in our Criminal Code covering the crime of incitement to genocide,” Sidoti said. “So this is an Australian crime, not just an international one.”
Arrest warrants and uncomfortable precedents
There is currently no public arrest warrant for Herzog from the International Criminal Court. That, too, has been used to wave away the controversy.
Sidoti says that is beside the point.
“So he may be subject to an arrest warrant from the ICC. And if that’s the case, the Australian Government has a legal obligation to arrest him as soon as he sets foot in this country. But if there is no arrest warrant, then it’s an obligation, in my view, under international law, customary international law nonetheless, and a requirement to enforce the Australian Crimes Act.”
He pointed to precedent. When Sudan’s former president travelled to South Africa while subject to an ICC warrant, South African courts ruled that his head of state status did not protect him from arrest.
“He escaped before being arrested,” Sidoti said. “But the legal principle was established very clearly.”
The Migration Act option
Even short of arrest, the Australian Government has another lever it has not explained why it is not using.
“We now have very strong provisions in our migration law,” Sidoti said. “The Minister for Home Affairs can refuse entry or cancel visas on character grounds.”
“This guy does not meet the character test, no matter how you put it.”
Which raises a simple question the government has not answered: why is Herzog being allowed to come at all?
What is Israel’s Herzog doing here, who invited him, and why?
A genocide still ongoing
The legal debate is not occurring in a vacuum.
According to figures acknowledged by the Israeli military itself, at least 75,000 Palestinians have been killed and identified. Sidoti says that figure is a bare minimum.
“It’s estimated that there are at least 100,000 buried under the rubble. There are also bodies that have been buried that were not identified or were not taken to the hospital or the morgue for identification, but were simply buried by their families. We have no idea how many of those there are.
“There are also people buried by their families without identification, and large numbers of secondary deaths from starvation, disease, and lack of medical care.”
Despite claims of a ceasefire, Sidoti rejects the term.
“The most accurate description is reduce fire,” he said. “Some days it is lower, some days it is very high. Thirty people were killed on Friday alone.”
“That is about the same average daily civilian death toll as Ukraine, where there is no ceasefire at all.”
So what happens if he lands?
Innocent until proven guilty
Sidoti is careful not to declare guilt.
“I am not saying he is guilty,” he said. “That is for a court to decide. But there is sufficient evidence to warrant investigation and prosecution.”
In practical terms, that could mean refusal of entry, detention for questioning, or arrest by the Australian Federal Police.
“He should be met at the airport,” Sidoti said. “He should be taken into custody for interrogation. And if there is evidence sufficient for prosecution, he should be prosecuted.”
A political decision with legal consequences
Sidoti believes the invitation itself was a mistake, made in the aftermath of traumatic domestic events, but one that can still be reversed.
A crazy mistake
“This is a monumentally crazy mistake,” he said. “And the Prime Minister needs to change course. It is not too late to withdraw the invitation.”
Whether the Albanese Government faces future legal liability for inviting Herzog is an open question. Sidoti says he has not yet assessed that risk.
But the broader issue is already clear. Australia cannot claim commitment to international law while selectively suspending it for diplomatic convenience.
If incitement to genocide is a crime, the question is no longer theoretical.
To whom does the law actually apply?
You can watch the full video here.
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Australia, International Law and Armed Conflict – What are our obligations?
Thursday, 12 March 2026, commencing at 6:00 PM with light supper afterwards
Harold Lobb Concert Hall, Newcastle Conservatorium
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.