The alarming antisemitic attacks that took place in Sydney over the weekend are an “escalation in antisemitic crime,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said.
The crimes have been delegated to a New South Wales counterterrorism command.
Saturday saw an attempted arson attack on a Sydney synagogue, while on Sunday, two synagogues, homes, and cars were vandalized in the city.
“This is an escalation in antisemitic crime in New South Wales. Police and the government remain very concerned that an accelerant may have been used,” Reuters reported Minns as saying in a Sunday televised media conference alongside New South Wales Police Force Commissioner Karen Webb. “In the last 24 hours, these matters have now been taken over by counterterrorism command.”
The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said on Sunday that the state government provided additional resources to investigate the Newtown Synagogue vandalism, attempted arson, and other recent incidents.
These may include the Saturday vandalization of a Queens Park home, five cars, and a trailer, as well as the graffiti on the Southern Synagogue on Friday. Additional funding was allocated to enhance the security of the Jewish community.
Executive Council of Australian Jews CEO Alex Ryvchin wrote on X/Twitter on Sunday that Australia is facing a threat to its national security and that law, policing, and sentencing were not keeping pace with the level of threat.
The government also told the board it would strengthen laws about vilification and incitement to violence, a move that has been repeatedly requested by Jewish groups, particularly in the wake of the weekend incidents.
Ryvchin and the board said that only through the arrest of the criminals would deterrence be restored. Minns urged the public on Sunday to help identify the Allawah and Newtown area vandals, sharing security footage published by police a day before.
'Vile' antisemitic graffiti
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the spate of antisemitic graffiti “vile” and “abhorrent” and noted that his government made it illegal to use Nazi and hate symbols.
“Australia is a better place than this,” Albanese said.
The attempt to set the Newtown Synagogue on fire Saturday was “a failed act of terrorism which risked the safety and property of local residents sleeping in their homes near the synagogue,” said the board.
The attempted arson of the synagogue came just a month after the high-profile arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
Sydney has seen a spate of antisemitic vandalism, with Queens Park last Monday seeing a car spray painted with the phrase “F*** the Jews.” The slogan was echoed on Saturday when a home was tagged with the words “F*** Jews.”
On December 11, a car was set ablaze and two properties were spray-painted with anti-Israel messages in Sydney. Several vehicles were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, while another was set on fire, in the Woollahra area in mid-November.
On Tuesday, a man was charged for driving past two pedestrians outside a place of worship last Saturday and making a shooting gesture. Police didn’t say that Jewish worshipers were targeted, but two synagogues are on the short road in the Sydney suburb of St. Ives.
ECAJ issued a report on December 1 detailing that antisemitic incidents had risen in Australia by 316% since October 7 compared to the previous 12-month period.