NSW council approves Jewish eruv amid claims of a 'religious enclave'

A Sydney council has approved an application put forward by Jewish residents for the creation of an eruv - a spiritual boundary created by connecting plastic conduits to Ausgrid electricity poles.

The eruv boundary in St Ives Source: Ku-ring-gai Council

Ku-ring-gai Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the eruv running 20km around the boundary of St Ives, in northern Sydney.

The Roads Act application was put forward by the group Helping Families Unite to form the boundary by attaching plastic conduits to electricity poles owned by Ausgrid.

An eruv is a symbolic structure for Orthodox Jews which allows them to carry out activities on the Sabbath and other holy days which they would otherwise not be permitted to do, such as push strollers and carry shopping. 

Eight of the 10-member council voted in favour of erecting the conduits, including the motion mover Liberal Councillor Chantelle Fornari-Orsmond.

             

The eruv boundary from council papers Source: Ku-ring-gai Council

She said the result was positive for the community, despite comments at the meeting from rate payers against the proposition.

“I’m thrilled. In recent Australian history, we’re built on cultural diversity, multiculturalism and acceptance. It’s great to see something get supported strongly by the councillors," she told SBS.

"There were a couple of speakers, and actually one that I had to do a ‘point of order’ that did say it was about creating an enclave, and that (it would lead to) Jewish people coming in and taking over.

“To be frank, I’ve travelled the world, I’ve been to Israel. Those comments come from a place of not understanding the religion, the people and it’s driven by unnecessary fear.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff said: "We applaud Ku-ring-gai Council on its sensible decision."

"The eruv enables Jewish residents of St Ives to observe their faith in an innocuous way and we can all now put this issue behind us and move on," he added.

There have been claims of a Jewish takeover of the suburb and counterclaims of anti-semitism since the issue was first raised more than eight years ago.

In September, the St Ives Progress Association sent out flyers that claimed the “risk of an eruv morphing into a religious enclave over the longer term is very real … one of the underlying functions of an eruv is to encourage those of their faith to settle in the area. Over time, this has the propensity to redefine the demographics of St Ives.”

Another letter, sent out anonymously, warned the real purpose of the eruv was to “establish a modern version of the ghetto under Rabbinical control”.

It said the “consequences of an eruv establishment is the division of the community and eventual expulsion of secular people”.

State Liberal MPs for Ku-ring-gai Alister Henskens, for Berowra Julian Lesser and for Hornsby Matt Kean all condemned these sentiments. So did Broken Bay Diocese Catholic priest Father Vincent Casey. They are all sympathetic to the eruv.

A council survey in September of more than 600 respondents along the proposed route of the eruv found that 50 per cent opposed the plan, while 41 per cent supported it.