Stoush over eruv erupts
Residents of St Ives, a Sydney suburb, are being asked to oppose the Eruv which has been in existence for about 18 months.
The St Ives Progress Association (SIPA), has distributed a flyer throughout St Ives calling for strong opposition to the Eruv stating, “the true motivation for the Eruv…is to create a ghetto under rabbinic control…(that will) eventually lead to the expulsion of secular people who live within the Eruv”.
Rabbi Gad Krebs
In a strongly worded counterattack, Rabbi Gad Krebs, Kehillat Masada Synagogue and Howard Sher President, Kehillat Masada Synagogue have distributed a letter to all residents living on the Eruv’s route which says:
The vitriolic libel contained in these false claims is baseless, antisemitic scaremongering. It cannot be tolerated, and it is time for us to state unequivocally:
It is one matter to oppose the Eruv if you genuinely believe there are environmental or council issues, but quite another to do so by making bigoted, racist and antisemitic allegations.
We similarly call on all local counsellors and members of parliament to take a clear and unequivocal stand against this hate-mongering.
Finally, we call upon you, the community, make your voices heard. Write to the council and tell your neighbours to do similarly.
Kreb told JWire that the Eruv was approved by Austgrid in August 2014 and it is not the organisers’ intention to erect new telegraph poles, wires or a wall.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff condemned the flyer as “textbook antisemitism and one of the worst examples of antisemitic literature we’ve seen in Sydney in a very long time. It makes baseless statements which can have no purpose other than to stir up animosity towards residents who have been living there for decades.
“An Eruv has been functioning in St Ives for 18 months without disrupting anyone’s lives. It’s about Australians doing what Australians do best – live and let live, a fair go for all. It’s time to move on” said Alhadeff.
