For the second time in two days, a synagogue in Sydney was defaced with swastikas on Saturday, in what the Jewish community described as a deliberate attempt to undermine social harmony, the Australian Associated Press reported.
The latest target was the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, where red swastikas were spray-painted across the building’s front wall, the report said.
Police responded to the incident on Saturday morning and are actively investigating. The vandalism occurred shortly after similar graffiti was discovered on a residential property on Henry Street in Queens Park, Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously,” the police said in a statement. “It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns condemned the antisemitic attacks and called on anyone with information to come forward. He also announced the extension of a $340,000 one-off grant to bolster temporary security measures for the state’s Jewish community.
“These people are determined to divide our community in two. We will always call out these acts for what they are – monstrous and appalling,” Minns said in a statement.
David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, urged all Australians to recognize the seriousness of these incidents.
“No one should think that these are just acts of vandalism. This is a concerted campaign to intimidate, harass and menace the Jewish community,” he said, adding, “These hate-filled cretins need to know that they will not succeed. The Jewish community is resilient and will not be intimidated and the broader Australian community despises these concerted attempts to erode our social cohesion and harmony.”
Saturday’s incident comes a day after the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
Television footage revealed several swastikas painted on the exterior of the synagogue, along with a disturbing message that read, “Hitler on top.”
Australia has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the phenomenon has intensified in recent weeks.
In early December, the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed, in an incident that is being treated as an act of terrorism.
Days later, a car was set on fire, and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population.
This week, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
Following the Melbourne synagogue arson, the Australian government established a dedicated task force last month to address threats, violence, and hatred against the Jewish community.