'An abominable, intolerant act': Anti-Semitic attack in Bondi Beach leaves Jewish community reeling
- Numerous sites across Bondi Beach, in Sydney, were defaced with swastikas
- More than 30 Nazi symbols were spray-painted on sites around the area
- It's believed the area was targeted because of its large Jewish community
- Dr David Adler warned the attack is part of an ongoing racist trend in Australia
- Police are looking into the matter and the council are removing the symbols
An Anti-Semitic attack dubbed as an 'abominable intolerant act' has left a Jewish community reeling.
Numerous sites across Bondi Beach, in Sydney, were found to be defaced with more than 30 Nazi swastikas on Sunday morning.
It's believed the seaside suburb was targeted due to the 'significant orthodox Jewish community' in the area, which is also home to synagogues and the Sydney Yeshiva.
Numerous sites across Bondi Beach, in Sydney, were found to be defaced with more than 30 swastikas (pictured)
Australian Jewish Association president Dr David Adler warned the attack is part of an ongoing racist trend which has spread across the country.
'We see it very much on social media, on Facebook in particular, where we have reported a number of anti-Semitic pages, a number of anti-Semitic comments, Holocaust denial and related comments,' Dr Adler told news.com.au.
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'It's certainly been increasing in the last couple of years,' he added.
He noted that Bondi was commonly known to have a large Jewish community.
Wentworth council confirmed the swastikas (pictured) were being removed on Sunday
'Bondi is also home to a number of Holocaust survivors and it is particularly upsetting to them for obvious reasons,' Dr Adler said.
Dr Adler also said the act was contradictory to the core values of Australia, a country which believes in 'religious freedom and expression'.
Other prominent members of the Jewish community have spoken out to slam the vandals for scrawling the offence symbol in public areas.
International lawyer and former Bondi resident, Arsen Ostrovsky, described the incident as a 'horrific un-Australian act' (pictured)
Former Australian ambassador David Sharma took to social media to say this type of racist behaviour had 'no place' in the community (pictured)
Former Australian ambassador David Sharma took to social media to say this type of racist behaviour had 'no place' in the community.
'What an abominable, intolerant and shameful act. Anti-Semitism, racism, and hatred in all its forms has no place in our community,' he wrote.
While an international lawyer and former Bondi resident, Arsen Ostrovsky, described the incident as a 'horrific un-Australian act'.
'Horrific to hear that Bondi Beach, the iconic Sydney suburb which I was privileged to grow up in [and] which has such large Jewish community, has been defaced with swastikas, in a repulsive, racist, Antisemitic and wholly un-Australian act,' he said.
Federal member for Wentworth Dr Kerryn Phelps wrote: 'The Wentworth community is united in outrage by the news that thirty swastikas were graffitied on the murals around Bondi Beach overnight.
Federal member for Wentworth Dr Kerryn Phelps said the community is united in it's outrage (pictured)
(File picture) Waverley Council had said the swastikas will be removed from the sites surrounding Bondi beach (pictured) on Sunday
'There is no place for anti-Semitism in Australia.'
While the Australian Jewish Association also took to its official Facebook page to condemn the graffiti.
'Bondi and Bondi Beach suburbs are home to a significant orthodox Jewish community and includes synagogues and the Sydney Yeshiva,' the post read.
'The growth of overt antisemitism is very worrying. It is contrary to Australian values of freedom and tolerance and must be unreservedly strongly condemned,' it added.
The post confirmed that the culprits have not yet been identified.
It also added that Waverley Council had said the swastikas will be removed on Sunday.
Local police are believed to be investigating the incident.
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