After chaotic and brutal scenes at a Sydney rally opposing Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit, assistant police commissioner Peter McKenna accused the speakers at the rally of 'inciting the crowd to march'. 'It was really something that was quite inflammatory,' he said. 'In fact, it got to the point that I believe the crowd really took part in some type of contagion of group think.' Asked if the protest would have been less violent had the police allowed protesters to march, he said: 'It wasn’t a matter of us letting protesters march. There was legislation in place to say they couldn’t march'

Source: The Guardian February 10, 2026 15:01 UTC