Members of Sydney's Jewish community remain deeply divided over the future of a Synagogue in Strathfield, in Sydney's west, built by holocaust survivors.
Eddy Neumann, President of Strathfield & District Hebrew Congregation, told SBS that 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 whole for the benefit of the wider community.
"If [local residents] wanted to learn about the Jewish heritage of Sydney or even this area, go to the Holocaust Museum," he said.
"If you want to go to a Holocaust memorial, go to Rookwood, where the Martyr's memorial is."
Strathfield was once home to a thriving post-World War II Jewish community, but over time, the suburb's cultural make-up has shifted.
Before it closed for the last time in August last year, the Strathfield Synagogue had a congregation of just 30 members.
The Strathfield Synagogue's former Rabbi, Samuel Tov-Lev, is among those who welcomed the heritage listing.
Until 2010, the Synagogue was his home. Dr Tov-Lev was forced to leave when his contract was terminated by the Synagogue's board of directors.
"[There's a] lot of feeling in this place," he told SBS. "You can't just come and destroy something like this."
He's particularly concerned tributes to Holocaust survivors contained within the building and grounds won't be maintained.
"They planted six trees in the front of the Synagogue in the memory of six million people," he said.
But the Synagogue's board of directors says the site is not a Holocaust memorial and shouldn't be confused with one.
"The Jewish religion is a living thriving religion," said Mr Neumann.
"We survived the Holocaust, we don't need monuments and memorials in place in places where we can live and pray and our community can develop."
Strathfield Mayor Daniel Bott also wants to see the physical structure of the Synagogue preserved, even if it no longer continues to function as a place of worship.
"We do see historical buildings torn down from time to time and I think that's quite saddening," he said.
"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 that's important obviously from the perspective of Jewish people but also from an Australian perspective.
"We were partly a sanctuary for people who fled."
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