Like most of the small towns along the South Coast, Manyana embodies the ideals of a carefree, relaxed lifestyle.
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The locals know each other's names. They wave when they pass in their cars, and a community noticeboard stands proud when you enter the town, announcing births, marriages and the draw of the local soccer club.
However, since Sunday morning the noticeboard sign has been defaced three times with anti-Semitic remarks that one local teacher believes are aimed at him.
“As far as I know I am the only Jewish person living in Manyana,” Lee Roland said.
“I think it is targeting me personally.
“Everyone knows I'm Jewish and I don’t hide it because I'm proud of it.
“I'm pretty tough, I'm not scared, but when you close your door at night and you don’t know if someone is going to come in to do something, then it does put some fear into my life.”
The 52-year-old said his “real fear” is the that the hateful message could spread if people see these types of signs each day.
“Lots of people and kids see this sign. Typically anti-Semitism doesn’t happen overnight, prejudice builds,” he said.
“The Holocaust started just like this, with people saying these kinds things and making generalisations about people. That’s what makes this so scary for me.
“Whatever religion you're from there are good and bad people.”
Mr Roland said the perpetrator is “blaming” an entire religion with their signs.
“What these signs are doing is taking a whole group of people and biasing them,” he said.
“I grew up going to a Hebrew school and I know people who were in the Holocaust. Some of my parents’ friends still had their Holocaust tattoos on them when I was young. These types of comments are disturbing.”
Mr Roland is not certain who is writing the hateful signs, or why someone has chosen now to launch this attack, but hopes it will stop soon.
“If they had any guts they'd put the sign on their front lawn,” he said.
“Where this sign is you can't hide. I’m 100 per cent sure the signs went up during the day. Someone would have seen them.”
Ulladulla police are investigating the incidents. Anyone with information should contact Ulladulla police on 4455 8599 or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
