Sydney’s oldest synagogue was targeted by anti-Israel activists on Sunday, July 14.
The protesters displayed a large banner outside the front entrance reading “sanction Israel” in capital letters, along with Palestinian flags, reports the JNS.
“Let’s be clear—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,” tweeted the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.
“This is truly outrageous behaviour, and we are appalled. Enough is surely enough. If you have so far remained silent, now is the time to speak up,” the Board added.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies on X (formerly Twitter): „Today, another line was crossed when Sydney’s oldest synagogue – The Great Synagogue – was vandalised. The Synagogue has continuously operated in its current location since 1878 as a testament to the vibrancy of Jewish life in Sydney and Australia. Over the past nine months,… pic.twitter.com/eXHjYoT3de / X”
Today, another line was crossed when Sydney’s oldest synagogue – The Great Synagogue – was vandalised. The Synagogue has continuously operated in its current location since 1878 as a testament to the vibrancy of Jewish life in Sydney and Australia. Over the past nine months,… pic.twitter.com/eXHjYoT3de
Consecrated in 1878 in the capital of New South Wales, The Great Synagogue has been in continuous operation since and is currently home to an Orthodox Jewish community of some 550 families.
According to the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, since the Hamas massacre of October 7 and amid the ongoing war in Gaza, services at the synagogue have been regularly interrupted by anti-Israeli protests in the area amid growing antisemitism country-wide.
Due to the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment, last week, the Australian government tapped its first special envoy to combat antisemitism, the Jewish lawyer and business leader Jilian Segal, who will serve for three years in this role.
Segal will advise Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles on antisemitism and promote education and awareness of the issue.
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