Lime E-bikes with anti-Semitic graffiti being dumped in Jewish quarters across Sydney

Lime E-bikes bearing swastika signs and the slogans “Israel is hate” and “Israel is a terrorist state” are being dumped in Sydney areas with a high population of Jewish people.

Vandals are defacing Lime bikes with anti-Semitic graffiti to intimidate residents in Jewish Sydney quarters creating “mobile racist billboards” in the latest anti-Israel campaign.

E-bikes bearing swastika signs and slogans “Israel is hell”, “Israel is a terrorist state” and “Zionists are Nazis” are being dumped and driven around Sydney’s Bondi, Rose Bay Coogee, Kensington, Maroubra and Randwick where large numbers of Jewish people live.

The Australian Jewish Association says it has received “hundreds” of complaints from its members spotting defaced bikes in the Eastern Suburbs since the Gaza war and that the private company operating the scheme in Sydney for the last three years has ignored complaints to clean them up.

Councils and police are powerless to erase the graffiti on the dockless bikes owned by Lime.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, called on Lime and the authorities to urgently remove these vehicles.

Vandals have defaced the Lime bikes with anti-Semitic graffiti.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said: “This is hatred on two wheels, a grotesque assault on decency, turning Lime bikes into roving tools of terror.

“The sight of swastikas and slogans like ‘Israel is hell’ and ‘Zionists are Nazis’ defacing e-bikes and infiltrating Jewish neighbourhoods is nothing short of a calculated campaign to instil fear and intimidate. These bikes are no longer just a mode of transport—they’ve been transformed into moving billboards of division and hate.

” These vandalised bikes are a chilling symbol of how antisemitism is being paraded through our streets with audacity and malice. Every swastika and hate-filled slogan etched onto these e-bikes is a deliberate act of psychological warfare, aimed at turning Jewish suburbs into zones of intimidation. What should be a tool for connection and mobility has been twisted into a weapon of division, a rolling reminder of the darkest prejudices that humanity has fought so hard to overcome. This is not just graffiti—it’s a declaration of contempt.”

Picture: Supplied

An anti-Israel sticker placed on an e-bike Picture: Supplied

Accountant Sam Gulz, a Jew from Randwick in Sydney’s east, said he complained to both Lime and Hello when he saw their e-bikes outside his apartment block with the words “Zionists are Nazis” emblazoned across the plastic front basket on December 23 and others decorated with stickers calling to “Boycott Israel apartheid”.

Mr Gulz, whose home in Randwick is near the Coogee and Maroubra Synagogues and independent Jewish coeducational Emanuel primary school, said: “it’s upsetting, they’re all over the place.

“I keep getting the bikes with the words ‘Boycott Israel Apartheid’ dumped outside my apartment block, I don’t know if it’s targeted directly at Jews in the building, but it’s really upsetting.

“Neither the police nor the councils can do anything — they say Lime and Hello are private companies and responsible for cleaning the bikes.

“This type of graffiti incites racism and makes Jewish people feel even more unsafe at a time when anti-Semitism is rising in Australia.”

A Lime bike in Bondi had “Israel is hell” painted on it. Image: supplied

Mr Gulz, who himself has been Facebook hacked and called a “little kikes**t … get gassed” added: “From Boxing Day to New Year’s Day I’ve seen at least 15 bikes with anti-Semitic graffiti.

“Whenever I speak to Lime customer service they either don’t understand English or promise the bike will be removed and cleaned but they never are.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry condemned the rise in vandalised bikes saying Australians are “sick” of racist vandals.

“We all want to enjoy our beautiful cities and amenities without childish, obnoxious activists seeking to impose their prejudice on the rest of us,” said co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin.

“They are costing Australians millions in additional security and police which will ultimately make us poorer and subject to greater surveillance.”

The AJA says it has received dozens of reports of share bikes vandalised with anti-Jewish or anti-Israel slogans in the last past few months.

“They are placed in areas where Jewish families live or near synagogues to intimidate the Jewish community,” said CEO Robert Gregory.

“If the graffiti was on a public building, it would be removed but Lime bikes and others have created a loophole that vandals are exploiting.

“The share bike companies are effectively providing permanent billboards to spread hate and division and target the Jewish community.”

Lime maintained it was taking the issue seriously and says it has a zero tolerance for anti-social and hateful behaviour.

“We are horrified at the anti-Semitic vandalism occurring on buildings, vehicles and signage across the City and thank every community member for alerting our local teams to vandalism on our e-bikes,” a spokeswoman said.

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