Jewish area attacked by vandals in Sydney

A stolen car was torched and anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on walls in the area, police say

A mob rioted in the primarily Jewish suburb of Woollahra in Sydney overnight Tuesday, setting fire to a car and spraying anti-Semitic messages on several properties.

Australian authorities have reported a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the country in recent weeks.

Last Friday, a similar attack took place in Melbourne, where police are looking for three suspects over an arson attack at the Adass Israel Synagogue.

The string of attacks has prompted the authorities to set up a special task force, Operation Avalite, to combat anti-Semitism and increase patrolling of Jewish areas, including schools and synagogues.

On Wednesday, state Premier Chris Minns condemned the attacks, saying the latest act of vandalism was a “deliberate attack designed to put fear into the hearts of the people that live in Sydney’s east.” 

He also stated that he had spoken to Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, and assured him that the authorities are looking into the attacks, which are being treated as a “disgusting display of antisemitism” that has frightened the “vast majority of people that live in New South Wales.”

PM Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns have condemned anti-Israel vandalism in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra overnight.

Israel's ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon posted on X: "This rising tide of antisemitism must end now."

Read more: https://t.co/fTvrbysfRK pic.twitter.com/94jFVCPt1H

— SBS News (@SBSNews) December 11, 2024

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also denounced the attacks, stating that the citizens of the country “want to live peacefully side by side” and “reject this abhorrent criminal behavior.”

“This is not a political act. This does not change anything that is occurring on the ground in the Middle East. This is an attack against their fellow Australians,” Albanese told ABC Radio National.

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New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said that a “full police response is underway” and that the authorities are conducting an “extensive investigation” into the incident.

Australia’s Jewish community has reported a rising number of anti-Semitic attacks in recent years, amid escalating tensions over Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza. 

According to the latest estimates of the Palestinian enclave’s health authorities, over 44,000 people have been killed and over 106,000 have been injured since Israel launched its assault against Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The offensive came in response to a Hamas attack on Israeli territories near Gaza, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 people, while several hundred more were taken hostage by the Palestinian militants.