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12-12-2024
CANBERRA: Australian police have launched an investigation after a car was set alight and houses were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney.
The incident has been condemned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “hate crime”. He told ABC News: “There’s no place for antisemitism in this country, or anywhere for that matter.”
It comes days after a fire engulfed a synagogue in Melbourne, causing minor injuries to one man, in what police there are treating as a probable terror attack.
Authorities in Sydney said they were seeking two people aged between 15 and 20 over the vandalism incident.
The pair had been wearing “face coverings and dark clothing” and were seen running from the scene, New South Wales Police said.
“We need public assistance to come forward and help identify those two people,” Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters.
Police said the car blaze was extinguished shortly after firefighters were called to the scene in Woollahra, a suburb in Sydney’s east, at around 01:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
Anti-Israel messages, including “Kill Israiel” (sic), were found at the scene, scrawled on the fence of two properties and cars.
Albanese said he had spoken to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) about the vandalism.
Earlier this week, the law enforcement body established a special taskforce to investigate incidents of antisemitism, including the alleged terror attack in Melbourne, and another vandalism spree that occurred in Woollahra last month. Police do not believe the two incidents in Woollahra are linked.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the latest incident appeared to have been “specifically designed” to “intimidate the Jewish community in Sydney”.
“If the question is can we do more? I think the answer is yes, and I’m not closing the door to changes to the law,” he told reporters, adding that he had spoken with Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon.
The president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip, said his community was “deeply saddened” by what had happened, but that they would “not be cowed”.
A fire which ripped through Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue is being treated as a likely terror attack, Australian police say.
Three suspects are being hunted over Friday’s early-morning blaze, which left one man with a minor burn to his hand and caused extensive damage.
Witnesses say they saw masked figures spreading what appeared to be an accelerant in the building, before setting it alight.
Victoria Police say they have no evidence that further anti-Semitic attacks are planned, but patrols are being increased to reassure the community.
After a meeting with Australian Federal Police and domestic spy agency Asio, the state police force said additional “intelligence” had led them to conclude the incident should be treated as a probable terror attack.
Commissioner Shane Patton said police had no information before the fire to suggest an arson attack was imminent.
He declined to provide any further details on the investigation while it continued.
Patton’s declaration came a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incident as “quite clearly terrorism” while acknowledging police were still to make up their minds. He called his description a “personal view”. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
