Premier Chris Minns visits Woollahra
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visited Emanuel Synagogue in Sydney’s Woollahra this morning, meeting with synagogue leaders following a spate of antisemitic incidents that recently occurred nearby in Woollahra.
Chris Minns addresses the media at Emanuel Synagogue Pic: Screenshot
The Premier delivered remarks alongside David Ossip, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, expressing solidarity and vowing to take strong action against hate-fuelled violence.
Minns met with Grant McCorquodale, President of Emanuel Synagogue, Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, Senior Rabbi of the synagogue, and Ossip. The visit came in response to recent criminal acts targeting the Jewish community, which have been described as an escalation in harassment over the past year.
Addressing the media outside the synagogue, Ossip denounced the incidents as attacks not only on the Jewish community but on Australia’s values of inclusion and respect. “The scenes we saw in Woollahra yesterday are scenes we should never see in Sydney and scenes we should never see in Australia. They are criminal acts… primarily targeted at the Jewish community and intended to menace and harass,” he said.
Ossip highlighted the broader implications of the attacks, calling them an assault on the social fabric of Australia. “It’s an attack on the Australian way of life, the societal cohesion and harmony that we in this country so treasure,” he said. He thanked Minns for his strong condemnation and expressed hope that the newly established police strike force would bring the perpetrators to justice.
Minns reiterated his commitment to protecting the Jewish community, emphasising that antisemitic behaviour would not be tolerated. “No one should feel harassed or intimidated in their home,” the Premier said. “Sydney has been a welcoming place for people of all faiths and all religions for many, many years, and it will not be tolerated if someone decides to attack members of our community as a result of their race or religion or even their political views.”
Minns acknowledged the fear many in the Jewish community have experienced since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and expressed his regret. “I know that members of the Jewish community… have felt unsafe in their own town, and I’m deeply sorry for that,” he said.
Minns announced that a police strike force had been established to address the incidents, vowing to hold the perpetrators accountable. “The full force of the law will be applied against them,” he said. “None of this will be tolerated in 2024 in Sydney. No one should feel intimidated or harassed in their own place, in their own town, in their own home.”
The recent incidents have drawn widespread condemnation, with Jewish community and political leaders describing them as a troubling escalation. Ossip indicated that the past year has seen an increase in targeted harassment against the Jewish community, with the attacks in Woollahra representing a new level of intimidation.
Minns assured the Jewish community that the overwhelming majority of Australians stood with them. “To the Jewish community in Sydney, 99.99% of Australians… have wonderful regard, close relations and feel horrified by the activities we’ve seen in parts of the eastern suburbs over the last 24 hours,” he said.
As tensions remain high, Minns called for unity and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to multiculturalism. “We cannot have a situation where we are importing this kind of violent rhetoric and hateful dialogue into Australia in 2024,” he said. “My government’s not going to stand with it, and I think the vast majority of Australians that live in this state feel exactly the same way.”
