Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission and Jewish Studies academic, responds to the latest anti-Semitic attack in Sydney’s east.
This was not mere vandalism. This was terror. A brutal attack on identity, security and freedom.
Look around. The walls of Sydney scream with hatred.
The fires that burned on Magney Street were not just flames; they were a signal of a society teetering on the edge of the abyss. Graffiti that screams “Kill Israel” is not a spelling mistake; it is a declaration of war on every Jewish person in Australia.
This is the inferno of anti-Semitism, coming back to life and challenging us to face it or be consumed by it.
How many times do we have to say, “Never again,” only to wake up to see “Again” in flames on our streets?
How many more synagogues, schools and homes have to be destroyed before we stop calling this ‘shocking’ and start calling it what it is: an attack on the fabric of Australian society?
What we saw in Woollahra is a coordinated campaign of terror.
Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dvir Abramovich
Anti-Semitic graffiti was sprayed on a wall behind a burnt-out car in Woollahra
These masked cowards have thrown down the gauntlet with their spray cans and torches. They want us to live in fear. They want us to look over our shoulders. They want to set our nights on fire.
But to those who try to intimidate us, hear this: We will not bow down. We will not cower. We will not be silenced. Your flames only fuel our determination. Your hatred only hardens our unity.
These brazen attacks don’t just consist of graffiti on walls or charred vehicles; it’s a burning question for every leader, every police officer, every citizen: will you let hate win? Will you stand by as our cities fall into chaos, or will you rise and crush this evil where it lies?
The message to Premier Chris Minns and the NSW Police is clear: action is the only answer that matters.
Find these criminals. Expose them. Pursue them with the full weight of the law. Send a message loud enough to drown out the hate on our walls: Sydney will not be a haven for hate.
This is not just about protecting the Jewish community. This is about protecting the soul of our nation.