Australia’s only Catholic liberal arts tertiary institution, Campion College, was plastered with violent Nazi messages and swastikas over the summer break. Source: The Australian.
College president Paul Morrissey said the graffiti, including “die”, “we love Hitler” and various obscenities was discovered after the Christmas shutdown, the only week in the year the premises at Toongabbie in Sydney’s west were unattended.
“It’s something we never thought we’d see at Campion, it made us feel sick,” Dr Morrissey said.
In the wake of Hamas’s October 7 massacre of 1200 people and the kidnapping of 240 hostages in Israel, dozens of Jewish sites around Australia have been plastered with such graffiti, including homes, shops, synagogues and Jewish centres.
Campion College, which is secluded from the road, is set in leafy grounds, secured by a 1.5m fence. The vandals defaced the chapel door with a swastika as well as parts of the original building, the only areas of the campus not covered by CCTV footage.
Security and surveillance have since been boosted. Police have not caught the culprits.
Dr Morrissey believes the college was targeted “because of what we stand for, including the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the value of Western civilisation and freedom of religion”.
Campion’s degree and diploma courses follow a core curriculum covering history, literature, philosophy, theology and science, based on the study of the great books.
The college has several prominent Jewish supporters, including Australia Jewish Association president David Adler. Rabbi Shimon Cowen, director of the Institute for Judaism and Civilisation, is an honorary fellow of the college.
The new academic year begins at Campion later this month with an enrolment of about 200 students.
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Catholic liberal arts college plastered with Nazi graffiti (By Tess Livingstone, The Australian)
