Two suspects sprayed anti-Israel graffiti and set a car on fire in a Sydney suburb on Wednesday, police said, prompting “outrage” from the Australian government days after a synagogue in Melbourne was torched.
Police said they were searching for two men, believed to be teenagers, who were “cross-dressed” and were seen fleeing the scene in the early hours.
New South Wales State Police said the offenders burnt the car they were travelling in and sprayed graffiti on the burnt car, another car, two buildings and a footpath.
Footage that appeared in local media showed the phrase “Kill Israel” written in black letters on a white wall in the eastern suburb of Woollahra, which has a long-standing Jewish community.
A contractor painted over the graffiti shortly afterwards. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:
“The incident in Sydney is outrageous and yet another anti-Semitic attack. I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemn this attack. There is no place for hatred and anti-Semitism in our country.”
The Australian leader said he would be briefed this week by a federal police task force set up to investigate anti-Semitic attacks.
The previous day, Albanese inspected the charred remains of a synagogue in Melbourne, calling on the country to unite in the face of a “vicious” arson attack.
Previous attacks
The Adat Israel synagogue was set on fire in Melbourne on the night of December 6. Two people were injured and hospitalised with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. The premises sustained significant damage. According to the police version, the incident was anti-Semitic and occurred against the background of a significant increase in Judophobic sentiment in Australia.
Media reports say that police closed access to the synagogue, also blocking off neighbouring streets. Eyewitnesses reported that two unidentified masked men appeared outside the building at around 4 a.m. local time. After breaking a window, they broke into the room, poured petrol on it and set it on fire before fleeing.
At that time there were two people in one of the rooms, who were preparing the place for morning prayers. They called the police to report what had happened. Witnesses say the damage to the building is extensive.
Victoria Jacinta Allan, head of the Victorian state government, said the synagogue was founded in memory of the Holocaust by Jewish Holocaust survivors, mostly immigrants from Hungary. She also said she was allocating 100,000 Australian dollars for renovations. “We oppose anti-Semitism now and forever,” she added.
According to a report by the Executive Council of the Jewish Community of Australia (ECAJ), there were 2,062 acts of anti-Semitism recorded in the country between October 2023 and September 2024, four times more than a year earlier.
