Cars vandalised, vehicle torched in anti-Israel attack in Woollahra in Sydney’s east
The PM, NSW Premier and a host of other political figures have deplored a sickening anti-Semitic vandalism attack in Sydney’s east in which a cars and buildings were damaged, including a Matt Moran’s restaurant.
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Up to a dozen cars have been vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti, and a vehicle set alight in Sydney’s east, with politicians and community leaders widely condemning the attacks as an escalation in anti-Semitic behaviour in the harbour city.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who landed back in Australia on Thursday morning after the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil, issued a statement saying the vandalism was “deeply troubling”.
Meanwhile, Premier Chris Minns condemned the acts, saying the “attack … was absolutely deplorable”.
“It is unacceptable, un-Australian, and it will not be tolerated,” he said.
On Thursday night, former prime minister John Howard called the incident a “demonstration of naked anti-Semitism” as he spoke to attendees at the Jewish House’s fundraising event on homelessness.
I can’t tell you how angry and disgusted I am with what happened in Woollahra overnight,” Mr Howard said.
“Whatever our political views are, we should denounce it. I always thought this country had a long tradition of bipartisan detestation and rejection of anti semitism.”
In a bipartisan show of support for the Jewish community, Labor’s Josh Burns and Liberal Dave Sharma addressed the press at Parliament House on Thursday, condemning the damage done and intent behind it.
“This is an attack that’s designed to menace, intimidate and silence one group of Australians only. It took place in the heart of Sydney’s Jewish community, and it has no place in Australia,” Mr Sharma, the former Ambassador to Israel and former member for Wentworth, said.
Mr Burns, who is Jewish, said the attack in Sydney’s eastern suburbs required a response from “above politics”.
“Every single person in our country deserves to live in safety, dignity and peace. That is not what happened on the streets of Sydney last night,” he said.
It comes after emergency services were called to Wellington Street, Woollahra shortly before 1am following reports of a car on fire.
Fire & Rescue NSW extinguished the blaze, which had destroyed the car.
In the aftermath, police discovered that up to a dozen cars parked along Wellington, Tara, Fullerton and Ocean streets had been defaced with graffiti reading “f**k Israel.”
The front door of a unit complex on Ocean Street was also vandalised with similar politically charged messages, as were prominent buildings including Matt Moran-owned Chiswick restaurant.
The spate of graffiti written on at least a dozen cars and some buildings has rocked locals residents.
Peter Gerrard had just woken up to find his car, near the Turkish consulate on Ocean St, reading “F*K ISRAEL” and “PKK C”.
It is still unknown what PKK means, although the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organisation.
Mr Gerrard was “shocked” to find the graffiti on his car, saying he was unsure why his car was targeted.
“(But) what can you do … life goes on,” he said.
When asked what he made of the message of the graffiti, Mr Gerrard admitted he was “upset” but “I’ve just got to roll with the punches”.
He added “it’s unfortunate”.
Mr Gerrard said he hoped “people were more reasonable”, explaining he was a “quiet person” and just wanted to move on.
Another resident whose car was vandalised was Jewish woman Frances Gottlieb who branded the “anti-Semitic” graffiti “cowardly”.
“It’s obviously targeted and making a statement,” Mrs Gottlieb said.
“I just think it’s incredibly sad and distressing.”
She said it was a “terrible message” and “I think this is all anti-Semitism”.
“Whether or not one likes different races, it shouldn’t come to this,” Ms Gottlieb said.
Celebrity chef Matt Moran was seen inspecting the damage, telling media the site would be cleaned and open for business as usual.
Mr Moran told The Australian: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see this amount of vandalism – there’s no place for it in our community. We are cooperating with the relevant authorities in their investigation.”
Meanwhile Jewish leaders have defiantly spoken out against the vandalism.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin condemned the vandalism, labelling it as “extreme and violent” in a statement.
“The anti-Israel movement has been growing progressively more extreme, more violent and more indifferent to who it harms. It wasn’t stopped at the Opera House steps. It wasn’t stopped at the pro-Hamas encampments. And it wasn’t stopped at the hate preachers.
“Now Australians are waking up to find their property destroyed and their suburbs violated.”
Outside Chiswick restaurant he doubled down on his statement, describing it as a “distressing day” for the Jewish community.
“To wake up to this violation, to see property damage … with anti-Semitic, anti-Israel slogans, to see cars set alight in this leafy Sydney suburb, it’s immensely distressing,” he said.
“No aspect of this surprises us.”
Mr Ryvchin said the past year “we have seen the extremism of the anti-Israel movement”.
“We’ve seen an escalation in their rhetoric and in their deeds,” he said.
“I think Australians have had a gutful of this … I think it’s time for strong leadership … and put a stop to this once and for all.”
Mr Ryvchin said he had spoken to members of the Kurdish community who were “aghast and appalled” by the graffiti.
“Any suggestion that some of their people might have been involved, they’re horrified by that,” he said.
“They are standing in solidarity with the Jewish community.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip it's a “campaign of intimidation and harassment”.
“We are closely liaising with the authorities following reports that a car was set alight and other vehicles were defaced with anti-Israel graffiti in Woollahra overnight,” he said.
“This is the latest escalation in a campaign of intimidation and harassment targeted at the Jewish community.
“There cannot be any tolerance for criminal behaviour like this, which undermines social cohesion and is antithetical to the Australian values we all hold dear.
“The Jewish community will not be intimidated by such acts of criminality and anti-Semitism.
“We will continue to stand with our fellow Australians to reject acts and words of division and hate which seek to disrupt the societal harmony we all treasure.”
The Prime Minister and Premier led a chorus of leaders in criticism of the vandalism.
“I have seen the images of last night’s act of anti-Semitism in Sydney,” he said.
“These are disturbing scenes and deeply troubling to all Australians.”
He added he had trust in “our law enforcement agencies to deal with this”.
“There is no place for anti-Semitism in Australia. Conflict overseas cannot be made a platform for prejudice at home,” he said.
Premier Chris Minns said: “It is unacceptable, un-Australian, and it will not be tolerated,” he said.
“The NSW Police have stood up Strike Force Mylor to investigate those who participated in this disgraceful behaviour.”
Mr Minns said the Jewish community is an “integral part of the wider NSW community” and the government is committed “to ensuring (their) safety and security”
Wentworth MP Allegra Spender said she was “deeply concerned” by the “appalling anti-Semitic graffiti”.
“(It is) completely unacceptable to damage … cars and a local business,” she said.
“This sort of violence has no place in our country or our community.”
Ms Spender said “anti-Semitism and racial hate have no place in our society”.
“These attacks are intended to intimidate – but my message … is we must not let them undermine the community,” she said.
Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt said he was “concerned” about the damage. “It is unacceptable, and I am glad that no one was injured,” he said.
Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane was seen roaming the streets on Thursday, concerned about the attacks on her community.
She said the “disgraceful attacks on the Jewish community must stop”.
“Violence and intimidation have no place in our city,” she continued.
“The eastern suburbs has endured ongoing acts of vandalism, hate and abuse since Oct 7. This escalation is deeply troubling.”
Mayor of Woollahra, Councillor Sarah Swan said she was appalled to hear of anti-Israel graffiti and the vandalism of cars and a property in Woollahra early this morning.
“This hateful criminal activity is not welcome anywhere in Australia and it is very distressing and worrying for our community. Woollahra Council is grateful to the Eastern Suburbs Local Area Command which is thoroughly investigating and we encourage members of the public with information or relevant CCTV footage to report it immediately. The Council offers its full support to the police.”
Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry said early observations indicated the fire was “suspicious” given the fire appears to have started on the outside of the car.
“It’s quite uncommon for a car to ignite when it’s just sitting on the road for a number of hours,” Mr Dewberry said.
“Initial burn patterns are indicating that the fire did start on the outside.”
He said police would now be using the information to investigate if there was any criminal intent.
No injuries have been reported.
Officers from the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command have established multiple crime scenes, which are now under examination by specialist forensic teams.
Anyone who have knowledge of the incidents – or were in the area at the time with any available dashcam/mobile phone footage – are urged to contact Waverly Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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