Residents crack Rose Bay grandmother’s antisemitic graffiti spree

A 71-year-old Rose Bay grandmother has been charged with six graffiti offences after a six month-long community effort by local residents who documented repeated antisemitic and anti-Israel vandalism across Sydney’s eastern suburbs and provided crucial evidence to police.

Since mid-July 2025, residents along O’Sullivan Road woke to fresh graffiti almost every week. Walls, real estate signs and residential fences were repeatedly marked with pro-Palestine slogans, boycott calls and messages such as “Israel = genocide”, “Gaza is a holocaust” and “Israel get out of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria”.

While the vandalism continued, residents decided they would not simply wait for the offender to stop or be caught. They organised themselves, installed motion-activated cameras and began early morning patrols to monitor the streets before dawn, according to a report by Sharri Markson of Sky News.

One neighbour described the turning point: “It became clear that if this was going to stop, we needed to work together. Little by little we worked out her patterns, and once we could film her doing it, police would finally have something solid to act on.”

Another resident said the group’s aim was simple: “to gather enough evidence so police could intervene and the community could feel normal again.”

Their first breakthrough came in August 2025 when a dashcam captured a woman spray painting a wall around 5am. More footage followed in mid-November, including an incident where the culprit returned to a freshly cleaned site to deface it again.

By late November, residents had refined their strategy. On 30 November, three coordinated groups took to the streets from 4.30am, two in cars and one on foot. Their combined surveillance recorded clear footage of a woman spray painting near a construction site. This material was handed to NSW Police that day.

Two days later, on 2 December, officers arrested 71-year-old Shona Barker at her Rose Bay home. She faces four counts of intentionally marking premises without consent (aggravated) and two counts of intentionally marking premises without prescribed consent. Barker is scheduled to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 16 January 2026.

For many locals, the arrest was both a relief and a shock. Some residents said they were surprised by the identity of the alleged offender; others emphasised the toll the weekly vandalism had taken on families.

One resident said, “People have spent hours scrubbing this stuff off. It wasn’t just offensive; it wore down the whole community.”

Another described the conduct as cowardly and said the timing made it harder to catch: “She did this when no one was around. That’s why we had to get organised.”

Barker, who practises acupuncture from an apartment in Bondi Beach, declined to comment when approached by media.

Online reaction has been strong, with social media users praising the Rose Bay residents for their persistence and coordination. Comments on Facebook and X noted that without their groundwork, charges may never have been laid.

One post on X described Barker as “scum” in reference to the antisemitic nature of the graffiti, while on Facebook comments reflect strong community approval for the local residents’ efforts in capturing evidence. One commenter praised the ingenuity of the neighbours, noting it simplified the police’s task. Others commended the community for apprehending the “bigot” but expressed doubt that the legal system would impose more than a minor penalty.

The case comes amid a wider spate of antisemitic vandalism in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including graffiti this week at Bondi Beach now under police investigation.

For the residents who carried out the surveillance, the result is a reminder that community action can make a difference.

JWire will continue to monitor developments as the matter proceeds through court.