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Greens fan flames of Sydney’s escalating anti-Semitism ‘tinderbox’

Sydney’s inner west has become a ‘tinderbox’ after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks, with the local mayor saying the Greens ‘at every level’ had failed and ‘inflamed’ tensions.

Newtown synagogue was vandalised with Nazi symbols on Saturday morning in what police said was an attempted firebombing attack. Picture: Simon Bullard.
Newtown synagogue was vandalised with Nazi symbols on Saturday morning in what police said was an attempted firebombing attack. Picture: Simon Bullard.

Sydney’s inner west – encompassing part of Anthony Albanese’s electorate – has become a “tinderbox” after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks, with the Labor mayor saying the Greens “at every level” had failed to combat the hatred and “inflamed” tensions.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne said if bipartisan action was not taken, the situation would spiral, slamming elected Greens representatives for “sowing seeds of division” and for being “too careless about anti-Semitism”.

“Despite Jewish leaders having warned elected representatives for months that the temperature needed to be turned down, some politicians have been fanning the flames of anti-Semitism, and that needs to stop,” he said at Sydney’s Lewis Herman Reserve, named in honour of a former Jewish mayor.

“There’s one political party that has not been taking enough care to combat anti-Semitism at multiple levels, and that’s the Greens party.”

Mr Byrne said in the inner west – Sydney’s progressive heartland – anti-Semitism had become the area’s “biggest problem”.

“And it’s growing by the day, and that’s why we need the whole community to unite to stamp this out, including our political leaders,” he said.

The mayor’s intervention comes after three incidents in the local government area in as many days: Nazi symbols tagged on a Newtown synagogue in an unsuccessful firebombing attempt, “gas the Jews” graffitied near Sydenham train station, and a 54-year-old man arrested for performing a Nazi salute.

The Prime Minister’s Grayndler division takes in Newtown and Sydenham, and Mr Albanese condemned the “abhorrent” incidents, backing police to investigate and prosecute.

Mr Byrne referenced “un­acceptable” 2023 comments from Newtown NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong as to how the party had fanned the flames. “When Ms Leong said the Jewish community were using their ‘tentacles’ to get into other ethnic communities, that’s one of the oldest Nazi tropes,” he said, criticising “radio silence” from Greens elected members.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, centre, deputy mayor Mat Howard, left, and councillor Chloe Smith address the media in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NewsWire
Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, centre, deputy mayor Mat Howard, left, and councillor Chloe Smith address the media in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NewsWire

“Jewish leaders have been warning all of us for many months now ... But instead, some politicians have inflamed the situation, and we need to draw a line in the sand and say that has to stop, because this is getting dangerous.”

Ms Leong “wholeheartedly apologised” for her wording after saying the “Jewish and Zionist lobby” used its “tentacles” to “influence power and infiltrate” ethnic community groups, denying she had intentionally evoked an anti-Semitic trope – and an infamous cartoon depicting Israel and Jews as an octopus – “unreservedly apologising” for that imputation and the hurt it had caused.

She later visited and donated to the Sydney Jewish Museum as part of a resolution – without admitting liability – at Australia’s human rights body.

An August council meeting also spiralled out of control after an unsuccessful Greens push to force the inner west to boycott products and firms with ties to Israel. “Activists, including Greens candidates, whipped up the crowd, alleging that council was complicit in genocide,” Mr Byrne said.

“Jewish residents who attended were booed and hissed … It was a very clear example of anti-Semitic conduct. This has gotten out of control, and it’s time for us to come together to stamp this out.”

Ms Leong on X called the Newtown synagogue attack “vile” and “unacceptable”, saying everyone had “the right to feel safe in places of worship”, and she had been in touch with that congregation.

Greens inner west councillors had not condemned the recent anti-Semitic incidents publicly.

Jewish leaders have also criticised Mr Albanese’s failure to combat anti-Semitism with a response to match its severity.

Mr Byrne, however, said the Prime Minister had “opposed anti-Semitism his entire life”, noting that Mr Albanese helped reverse the pre-merged council’s 2010 boycott, divest, sanction policy, and whose own office was blockaded for months by pro-Palestine activists and tagged with Hamas symbols.

He rebuffed any notion that the recent attacks were “anti-Israel” rather than anti-Semitic. “I can’t stand Benjamin Netanyahu, but I’m the mayor of the Inner West, and it’s our job to maintain social cohesion and respect here,” he said. “The situation is like a tinderbox ... We can’t wait until someone’s hurt.”

Newtown NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong leading a pro-Palestine march in Sydney in 2024. Picture: Supplied
Newtown NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong leading a pro-Palestine march in Sydney in 2024. Picture: Supplied

Deputy mayor Mat Howard called the attacks “reprehensible” while councillor Chloe Smith said the incidents went against “everything (the inner west) stood for”.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip welcomed the “principled leadership and courage” of the council leaders, saying they had “spoken up when too many had stayed silent”.

“Social cohesion is currently in tatters and the Jewish community is besieged,” he said. “The inner west has prided itself as a hub of tolerance but it has become the scene for so much hatred directed against Jewish Australians.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the incidents were “another appalling example” of how hatred had become “normalised and escalated”, while colleague Alex Ryvchin said the Greens had helped light the “fire of anti-Semitism” and now stood back to “watch the flames”.

“They have gone quiet on the issue, no doubt hoping that by election time their culpability will be forgotten, but no one should forget how they have weakened our country and made us all less safe and secure,” Mr Ryvchin said.

Read related topics:Anthony AlbaneseGreens
Alexi Demetriadi
Alexi DemetriadiNSW Political Correspondent

Alexi Demetriadi is The Australian's NSW Political Correspondent, covering state and federal politics, with a focus on social cohesion, anti-Semitism, extremism, and communities.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/greens-fane-flames-of-sydneys-escalating-antisemitism-tinderbox/news-story/d7c29b27a915540f119d4e81c6f34f5e