‘Targets our children’
'This targets Jews and it targets our children, making it doubly despicable.'
A NAZI swastika drawn outside a Rose Bay childcare centre has instilled “fear and anxiety” among the families who attend it.
Last Thursday morning parents and staff arrived at the eastern suburbs daycare to find the Nazi symbol scrawled at the front of the centre. The graffiti has since been removed, NSW Police are aware of the incident and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies understands they are reviewing CCTV footage.
The childcare centre has a large number of Jewish children and staff.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Alex Ryvchin, whose daughter attends the daycare, was left deeply angered “both as a parent with a child at the centre and as a Jew”.
“We don’t yet know who did this and why, but we do know that for the predominantly Jewish families of the centre it has instilled fear and anxiety,” Ryvchin told The AJN.
“This targets Jews and it targets our children, making it doubly despicable. The owners of the centre have handled things in an exemplary fashion, and I understand both CSG and the local police have been incredibly supportive. But this incident highlights that antisemitism is present in our community, and requires ever greater measures to both educate the public and punish those who do us harm.”
Member for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton described the incident as “totally unacceptable and abhorrent”.
“It was incredibly concerning to hear that a local childcare centre was defaced with the Nazi swastika,” she told The AJN.
“In August 2022, the NSW government made it a criminal offence to display Nazi symbols in public so that we can better protect the community and prevent these kinds of incidents from occurring. If anyone has information concerning the incident they should immediately contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.”
Condemning the “cowardly vandalism”, NSW JBD CEO Darren Bark said the graffiti comes amid an alarming rise in antisemitism and antisemitic bullying of students across NSW.
“Nobody should have their child exposed to this hatred and intimidation. We’re seeing these vile displays at our football games, at our schools, in our public spaces and now in our preschools,” Bark said.
“This trend is deeply concerning and unacceptable. There is no place in our society for this terrible symbol. It is our collective responsibility to speak up against and call out this hate, wherever it appears.
“Those that commit such acts should expect the full force of the law to come down on them.”
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