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A synagogue in Christchurch has been vandalised twice in the past fortnight, and while police say they have no leads regarding the incident, representatives of New Zealand’s Jewish community are calling on authorities to take anti-Semitic threats more seriously.
Windows of the Beth-Al synagogue on Durham St Northhave been smashed, New Zealand Jewish Council spokesman and Christchurch resident Ben Kepes said.
“And it’s really just the tip of the iceberg of what we’re starting to see in the Jewish community,” he said.
A police spokesman said police received a report of vandalism at a property on the street last week and had been providing reassurance and prevention advice to the community.
Christchurch's Beth-Al synagogue, pictured on November 22, 2023, has reportedly been a target of vandalism twice in the past fortnight. Photo / George Heard
He said police had not been able to find anyone involved in the incidents and the matter had been filed: “We will follow up on any further lines of inquiry that may come to light.”
Kepes said the Jewish community felt as though there was a “double standard in terms of the way authorities are protecting other marginalised, minority communities in New Zealand, but not the Jewish community”.
The vandalism of the Christchurch synagogue follows the New Zealand Jewish Council saying the community was feeling “isolated and vulnerable” after a swastika was drawn on a statue of former Mayor of Auckland Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, who had Jewish heritage.
The statue vandalism came after or during a pro-Palestine rally in Auckland’s Aotea Square.
A Jewish-linked property has also been targeted in Epsom, while the fence outside Premier House in Wellington was tagged with pro-Palestine slogans.
A person was arrested after red paint was splashed across the United States Consulate and New Zealand’s foreign affairs building in the Auckland CBD by a group of pro-Palestine protesters. And red liquid, resembling blood, was also used to deface the Israeli Embassy in Wellington earlier this week.
‘Entire community feeling vulnerable’
“We don’t feel that the authorities are taking the threats to us as a community seriously enough,” Kepes said.
Kepes went further, saying authorities, specifically politicians, had been “screaming anti-Semitic terrorist slogans” in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A statue of former Auckland Mayor Sir Dove-Myer Robinson in Aotea Square was vandalised with a swastika and 'free Palestine'.
“The end result [of that] is physical attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions. The connection is fairly obvious,” he said.
He said the first incident of vandalism at Beth-Al happened soon after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
“We’ve been saying for a while that there’s a been huge spike in anti-Semitism. The reported rate of anti-Semitic attacks has skyrocketed,” he claimed.
“And so you’ve got an entire community across the country, and here in Christchurch, who are feeling really vulnerable, really traumatised, and we’re calling upon the various authorities to actually take these threats seriously.
“Again, we are really calling upon influential people in New Zealand, specifically politicians, to really tone down the language they’re using. We have politicians supporting protesters, and what a surprise - a week later, attacks start.”
The entrance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade building on Quay St in Auckland was splashed with red paint by pro-Palestine protesters. Photo / Michael Craig
Kepes said New Zealand Jews were scared anti-Semitism would become “far more serious”.
