Antisemitic graffiti on a NZ Jewish school
A Jewish school in Auckland should not have been subjected to hateful graffiti connected to the conflict in Gaza, according to the New Zealand Jewish Council (NZJC).
Kadimah School
Overnight on Wednesday, graffiti was spray-painted on a brick wall at the former Kadimah School building. The message read, “Genocide high school” and has since been removed.
The property used to house Kadimah School – New Zealand’s only Jewish school – until the congregation moved in 2022.
Darya Bing, chairperson of the Kadimah School board, condemned the incident, stating that such “hateful behaviour” had no place in New Zealand.
She noted that the school, which welcomed students of all backgrounds, was the only one in the country requiring security guards due to “targeted hostility.”
“Singling it out over global events and targeting children, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or national identity, is unacceptable. Anti-Israel rhetoric that targets a Jewish institution is not political activism, it is anti-Semitism. We stand firm against such bigotry and deeply appreciate our school whānau, community, and the many New Zealanders who refuse to tolerate it.”
NZJC president Juliet Moses said that anyone holding the school accountable for the actions of a government on the other side of the world was “reprehensible.”
“There is one Jewish school, and only one school that has guards stationed outside, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Targeting that school, holding it responsible for the perceived actions of a government on the other side of the world is reprehensible. As we have stated, we are seeing a rapid escalation and normalisation of antisemitism, which does not seem to have calmed, and in fact has only increased, since a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect. This graffiti, and actions such as incitement campaign against Israelis, are creating a dangerous environment for Jews. Where will this end?”
Police had not yet received a formal report about the vandalism, but a spokesperson acknowledged that the incident appeared “extremely distressing.”
