A home in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, previously owned by Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has been vandalized in the latest antisemitic attack in the country, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.
The incident occurred just before 4:00 a.m. local time. Emergency services arrived to find two cars ablaze, with one of the vehicles spray-painted with “f*** Jews.” Red paint was also splashed on the garage and front wall of a nearby house, according to ABC.
New South Wales Police, who are investigating the attack, emphasized their commitment to addressing hate crimes and urged anyone with information to come forward.
NSW Premier Chris Minns described the attack as a “disgusting and dangerous act of violence” and highlighted concerns over a “rising level of antisemitic attacks in our community.”
“I never thought I would see this kind of naked racism and anti-Semitism repeating itself on the streets of Sydney in such an organized and horrifying manner,” he said.
Minns confirmed that the former ownership of the vandalized property by Ryvchin “is an active line of police investigation.”
“I personally spoke to Alex this morning … he is obviously concerned but I was struck with how resilient and strong [he is],” Minns said, adding, “He is not taking a backward step under any circumstances … everybody is thinking about Alex and his family at the moment.”
NSW Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley vowed that police would apprehend the culprits, stating, “We will hunt you down. What we are seeing on our streets is totally un-Australian.”
David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, condemned the attack, stating, “There is no room for hate in our community. It’s time to call this out for what it is. It’s a campaign of domestic terrorism targeted at the Jewish community which is intended to intimidate, harass and menace our community.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his outrage during an interview with ABC, calling the attack “against everything Australia stood for.”
He emphasized the need to address rising tensions, saying, “It is good that yesterday the Australian Federal Police charged a man with allegedly making death threats to members of a Jewish organization. What we need to do is to lower the temperature in the community. Australians want to see the conflict end, they want to see hostages released, they want to see people being able to live in peace and security whether that be Israelis or Palestinians.”
The incident is the latest in a series of disturbing antisemitic attacks in Australia, which has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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.
In another incident, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
Last Friday, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall.