Jewish Australians must be safe from fear or harassment. But shielding Isaac Herzog from legitimate protest is not the answer

‘The government’s decision to roll out the red carpet for President Isaac Herzog while simultaneously establishing “exclusion zones” for the public is a misstep, one likely to deepen the rift between already polarised communities,’ writes George Newhouse. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Not all protests have a violent intent or target a group as illegitimate. But there are many Jewish people in Australia who feel that they are being attacked and that violence is being fomented against them. They see it every day when they watch the news, they worry about it when they see security guards at their schools or when at their synagogues, and they hear it when they are told that they have no right to cultural safety if they believe in the right of Jewish people to a homeland.

After the terrorist shootings at Bondi, the New South Wales government has empowered the police commissioner to put limits on protests or to ban them. The problem is that in allowing the banning of all protests, our laws go too far. They treat every protest as the same, without regard to intent, conduct, or risk.