Australia’s last antisemitism crisis was different

In the early months of 1960, the Australian Jewry experienced a sudden outbreak of anti-Jewish graffiti and vandalism not dissimilar to the current antisemitism crisis.

What has been called the ‘Swastika Epidemic’ began with the desecration of a synagogue in Cologne, West Germany on 26 December 1959, and then spread globally across the western world until it hit Australia.

During January and February 1960, there were approximately 20 to 30 anti-Jewish incidents in both cities and rural areas, including smashed at Temple Beth Israel, threatening slogans painted on the Zionist Federation building in Melbourne, and bomb threats targeting the Great Synagogue in Sydney. Anti-Jewish graffiti also appeared in small towns with few, if any Jewish, residents such as Whyalla in South Australia and Maryborough in Queensland.

Australian governments of varied party persuasion at local, state and federal levels, and civil society organisations responded to these events with statements of support for the Jewish community.  

In Victoria, the State Liberal Party Premier Henry Bolte, the Attorney General Arthur Gordon Rylah and the Acting Police Commissioner Superintendent Rupert Arnold assured the Jewish community of their support. 

In Sydney, the Labor-affiliated Lord Mayor Henry Frederick Jensen organised a large protest forum attended by 3,500 people at the Town Hall to condemn the racist attacks. Speakers included representatives of the Returned Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia (RSL), churches, the Country Women’s Association, the Chambers of Commerce and Manufacturers, the Labor State Government, and the opposition Liberal and Country Parties.