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Israeli President Isaac Herzog made an official visit to Australia’s domestic intelligence agency during his recent state visit, highlighting the close ties between the two nations’ security sectors.
During his trip, Herzog held discussions with Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), at the agency’s headquarters in Canberra.
ASIO confirmed the meeting in response to inquiries from independent senator David Pocock, who sought clarification during a parliamentary Question Time session regarding the rumored encounter.
“Australian intelligence agencies maintain robust and long-lasting partnerships with their international counterparts,” an ASIO spokesperson stated, underscoring the importance of these alliances.
As part of the visit, President Herzog was briefed by ASIO’s counter-terrorism team on their ongoing efforts, particularly in light of the recent attack in Bondi.
Meetings such as this are important opportunities to discuss global threats and strengthen international cooperation.”
Pocock said the issue had been raised with him by people in his electorate.
“Constituents raised with me a concern that the Israeli head of state, president Isaac Herzog, visited ASIO headquarters in the course of his recent visit to Australia,” Pocock said.
“The stated purpose of this visit was to provide support to Australia’s Jewish community.
“A visit by a foreign head of state to the headquarters of our national security and intelligence agency would, I believe, be unprecedented.”
SBS News has contacted ASIO to verify whether this claim is accurate.
“I was disappointed the government was not more forthcoming in their answer to my queries in question time and look forward to receiving further information in due course as I believe Australians deserve more transparency from their government,” Pocock said.
A senior intelligence source has told SBS that while such a visit is rare, in the context of the Bondi terror attack, there was a reasonable argument that the president could hold talks with Burgess about the continuing threat faced by Jewish Australians.
The source, who asked for anonymity to speak freely, said the president would not have been privy to any secret intelligence apparatus within the ASIO headquarters during his visit.
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