(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
Local government councillors in a suburb in western Sydney have voted to heritage list a synagogue, angering some senior members of the congregation who wanted to see the site sold.
Members of Sydney's Jewish community remain deeply divided over the future of Strathfield Synagogue, which was built by Holocaust survivors.
Rhiannon Elston reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Strathfield, in western Sydney, was once home to a thriving post-World War II Jewish community, but over time, the suburb's cultural demographics have changed.
Before the Strathfield Synagogue closed for the last time in August last year, membership had dwindled to just 30 people.
The drop in numbers prompted the Synagogue's board of directors to close its doors.
Samuel Tov-Lev was the Rabbi at Strathfield Synagogue for more than 15 years.
It was also his home.
He was forced to leave when the Synagogue closed, and is angry the site is set to be abandoned.
"I was there every day, I was living. Conducted the services. Lot of feeling in this place. You can't just come and destroy something like this."
This week, local councillors in Strathfield voted to have the site heritage-listed, a move the Rabbi welcomes.
At a council meeting held before the vote, several members of Sydney's Jewish community spoke out to protest against the listing.
Eddy Neumann, President of Strathfield & District Hebrew Congregation, said the synagogue didn't have enough members to keep it running, and that the site didn't hold enough historical significance to warrant maintaining without community support.
He dismissed suggestions the site should remain intact for the benefit of the broader community, saying it should be up to the Jewish community to decide what happens to the synagogue.
"What's there to appreciate about that, an empty building with nothing happening? If they wanted to learn about the Jewish heritage of Sydney or even this area, go to the Holocaust Museum. If you want to go to a Holocaust memorial, go to Rookwood, where the Martyrs' Memorial is."
Former Rabbi Samuel Tov-Lev was particularly concerned that tributes to Holocaust survivors contained within the building and grounds won't be maintained.
But Synagogue President Eddy Neumann says the site is not a Holocaust memorial and shouldn't be confused with one.
He and the board of directors hoped to sell the site, with the proceeds reinvested elsewhere in the community.
"Plenty of precedent for that, on the basis that the funds would then go to other synagogues, other community purposes, education. It's just not our way to have a building that was a place of worship qualified as a Holocaust memorial or an item of local heritage interest."
Listing the building as a local heritage item means it can't be demolished.
It doesn't prohibit sale, although any new owners will need to keep the building intact.
Built in 1959, the blonde brick building is an unremarkable square block, built across several lots.
Last year, an independent heritage assessment commissioned by the local council found evidence of historical and social significance.
Strathfield Mayor Daniel Bott believes the suburb would feel a loss if the site was destroyed and its plaques and relics moved to Sydney's Holocaust Museum near the city's centre.
"We do see historical buildings torn down from time to time and I think that's quite saddening. A lot of people in Strathfield have been quite vocal in the past of that ever happening here."
In particular, he hopes saving the building will save an important local link with Australia's post-World War II heritage.
"I think to have the buildings that were set up post-World War II I think that's important. obviously from the perspective of jewish people but also from an Australian perspective, this was a -- we were partly a sanctuary for people who fled."
Share
