Sydney Shul Ban Reversed

A local council who blocked the building of a synagogue it deemed a ‘terror threat’ is reportedly set to backflip on its decision in the wake of widespread outrage, the Daily Mail reported.

Waverley Council last week blocked an application for the new synagogue at Bondi, in Sydney’s east, claiming the building of worship could be targeted by terrorists.

The council’s decision was slammed in the days following, with widespread anger on social media and a major rally planned by conservative Jewish activist Avi Yemini.

But Waverley Council seemingly bowed to the growing weight of public pressure on Wednesday, with Mr Yemini claiming the municipality has reached an agreement that will see the synagogue built as originally planned.

Having campaigned heavily for the synagogue to be approved, Mr Yemini told Daily Mail Australia the decision showed ‘common sense had prevailed’.

The Waverley Council and the Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe held a ‘without prejudice’ meeting on Wednesday to discuss the proposed synagogue and apartments.

Present from Waverley Council were the Mayor, Acting General Manager and senior planning staff.

Present from the Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe included Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, Rabbi Eli Feldman, and Rabbi Eli Schlanger along with their town planning advisor and architect.

Rabbi Ulman welcomed the Council’s offer to meet again to discuss a new application for a similar development and was heartened to hear from Council that a synagogue is an acceptable use for a building on the land.

Rabbi Ulman said “The meeting today was positive and we look forward to working with Waverley Council to address issues raised in the Land and Environment Court judgement. All going well, we may have development approval in place as soon as December.”