SYDNEY — State and federal police in Australia are coordinating an investigation into an attack by a masked gang on the Melbourne office of a Jewish lawmaker.
Windows were smashed, and fires were lit, and the slogan "Zionism is fascism" was painted in red over a picture of the face of Josh Burns, a member of Australia’s House of Representatives.
Investigators in the state of Victoria believe a group of at least five people broke windows, spray-painted anti-Semitic slogans and threw red paint into Burns' office.
Police have confirmed the masked group also started two small fires. No one was hurt in Wednesday’s attack, but residents living in apartments above the lawmaker’s office in Melbourne had to be evacuated. No arrests have yet been made.
A chorus of politicians and community groups has condemned the vandalism.
The Anti-Defamation Commission, a Jewish campaign group, said it was an "assault on our democracy and our sense of safety."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Australian radio that it was a distressing escalation of tensions that have been inflamed since the start of Israel’s war with Gaza in October.
Burns said the assault on his office was "premeditated, reckless and dangerous" and that he had been targeted in the past by vandals defacing his election posters.
He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the abuse has been escalating.
"Since the war in the Middle East began on Oct. 7, you know, my staff have been at the receiving end of some pretty horrendous comments and abuse on the phones," he said. "You know, I really do not want to see an escalation in political violence in Australia. We do not want to see a conflict on the other side of the world to be arriving here on our communities and our streets and in our neighborhoods. We want to remain the wonderful and peaceful multicultural Australia, where people are respected and free to live their lives in the Australian way."
Australia has said Israel has the right to defend itself after the Oct.. 7 attack by Hamas militants.
Australia advocates a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist within internationally recognized borders.
Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian graffiti was daubed on the offices of senior government officials, including Attorney General Mark Dreyfus and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.
Police in Victoria state have been monitoring suspected crimes incited by the conflict in Gaza. Around 200 incidents have been reported, and 60 people have been arrested for alleged criminal damage and offensive behavior. Official data has shown that of the incidents reportedly linked to religious affiliation, 88 related to antisemitic attacks and 16 involved Islamophobia.
A Victorian police spokesperson has said previously that there was "no place in our community for hate crimes of any kind."
