'Sanction Israel' banner held outside Sydney Great Synagogue

A banner calling for the sanctioning of Israel was held outside the Great Sydney Synagogue on Sunday, according to the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.

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

— NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (@NSWJBD) July 14, 2024

The board said that the placement of the white banner proclaiming "sanction Israel" was "pure, unadulterated antisemitism which is intended to have a chilling and intimidating effect on members of the Synagogue and the Jewish community more broadly."

The synagogue's "services have been regularly disrupted to accommodate often incendiary protests in its immediate vicinity," said the board. "Now The Great Synagogue itself has come under attack."

The board called on other Australians to condemn the behavior. The Australian Jewish Association blamed the ruling Labor Party for degraded social cohesion in the country.

"It was never about anything Israel did," AJA said on X. "It has always been about hatred of Jews."

Banner displayed throughout the city

An identical banner has been displayed in Instagram videos of past anti-Israel protests. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network shared a video on Instagram on Tuesday in which activists displayed a similar banner throughout the city and outside the Labor Party headquarters and New South Wales Parliament.