Hate at the gate
"If it wasn't known before where we are and what we are, then it's certainly known now," says president of the Great Synagogue David Lewis.
President of The Great Synagogue David Lewis told The AJN that his congregation will not be intimidated after Sydney’s oldest synagogue was vandalised, but he is concerned that the national and international media exposure has identified the shule’s location.
On Sunday, at the same time as the weekly pro-Palestine march was taking place in the vicinity, stickers were placed on The Great Synagogue and a banner calling to ‘Sanction Israel’ was held outside the entrance.
“If it wasn’t known before where we are and what we are, then it’s certainly known now,” Lewis said.
“That’s the risk we now face, this is the risk the Jewish people all over the country face – this identification which may lead to unfriendly acts by persons unknown. A place of worship, no matter what kind of worship, is not a place for protests.”
He has met with the police and has written to NSW Premier Chris Minns to request high-level assistance. He said Minns has been supportive, with the Premier telling The AJN, “Religious institutions shouldn’t be places of protest, regardless of whether it’s a church, mosque or synagogue.
“Australian’s can hold their own views about the conflict in the Middle East – but implying that Jewish Australians are responsible for it and should be sanctioned as a result is completely abhorrent,” Minns said.
“There is no place for stigmatisation or persecution of Australians simply because of their religion, that’s particularly the case for the Jewish community who have suffered hundreds of years of persecution and discrimination.”
The Great Synagogue has continuously operated in its current location since 1878, which NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said is “a testament to the vibrancy of Jewish life in Sydney and Australia”.
“Targeting a synagogue is pure, unadulterated antisemitism which is intended to have a chilling and intimidating effect on members of the synagogue and the Jewish community more broadly,” Ossip said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin called the incident an “obscene and racist act which again shows us what the anti-Israel movement is all about – intimidating and denigrating Jews”.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Philip Zajac said the incident is not isolated.
“Synagogues in Victoria have recently been vandalised with anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian graffiti, and rabbis and staff subjected to hateful phone calls and online abuse from those who hate Israel,” Zajac said.
“Claiming to protest a foreign government’s actions doesn’t justify targeting Jews at their places of worship, that’s antisemitism.”
Lewis said services at the synagogue have been regularly disrupted because of the protests in its immediate vicinity and he has called for them to be stopped – not just for the sake of the Jewish community, but for the wider community too.
“The Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, attended us a number of weeks ago and gave a wonderful speech in the synagogue,” Lewis said.
“He noted that his congregation are scared on a Sunday; they’re scared to walk across Hyde Park, so it’s not just us. This is why these marches can no longer take place in the CBD. It’s unacceptable and asking for trouble, and here we are now.”
But Lewis emphasised that the vandalism was limited to minor contact with the front of the synagogue and that congregants should in no way fear for their safety. He said he was unsure if those holding the banner stopped outside the synagogue, or were photographed as they walked past it.
“We’re going to carry on and be proud Jews and run our services,” Lewis said.
“We will not be intimidated by this. We have taken steps to keep people safe and they will be safe.”
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