Vandals paint Swastika signs on synagogues at Newtown and Allawah
Police have released CCTV images taken outside two synagogues that were targeted by vandals in a hate-filled 24 hours. Homes in Sydney’s east have also been targeted.
NSW
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Another Sydney synagogue has been hit with vile swastika graffiti overnight, just hours after police released footage of two men they believe vandalised a synagogue south of Sydney.
The Newtown synagogue, in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalised on Friday night, with several red swastikas spray-painted across the front of the place of worship.
Police believe the two vandals also tried to set the synagogue on Georgina St on fire.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the culprits should “face the full force of the law”.
“The vile graffiti we’ve seen overnight, including at the Newtown synagogue, is abhorrent and needs to stop immediately. Australia is a better place than this,” he said.
NSW Police told The Saturday Telegraph officers were investigating the incident, along with anti-Semitic vandalism at a home on Henry St in Queens Park.
Residents woke around 6.30am this morning to find their home had been spray-painted with swastikas.
“The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police through Crime Stoppers,” NSW 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.”
Premier Chris Minns has extended a $340,000 grant to a Jewish peak body for improved security measures after another “monstrous and appalling” act of anti-Semitism.
“The government is announcing today the extension of a one-off grant of $340,000 from the Premier’s Discretionary Fund to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies to contribute towards enhanced temporary security measures for the NSW Jewish Community,” Mr Minns said in a statement on Saturday.
“Our message is clear - these acts designed to intimidate and divide will not work.
“These people are determined to divide our community in two. We will always call out these acts for what they are - monstrous and appalling.”
Mr Minns said his government will be introducing new legislation to protect religious institutions and places of worship when parliament resumes.
Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip hit out at repeated acts of hate.
“It should sicken us all that for the second time in two days, a Jewish place of worship has been targeted, Mr Ossip said.
“No one should think that these are just acts of vandalism.
“This is a concerted campaign to intimidate, harass and menace the Jewish community. These hate-filled cretins need to know that they will not succeed.”
The Jewish leader said the community “would not be intimidated and the broader Australian community despises these concerted attempts to erode our social cohesion and harmony”.
“ It is imperative that those found responsible for these crimes receive robust penalties to restore deterrence,” he said.
The anti-Semitic attacks came just hours after police released CCTV footage of two people they believe painted at least a dozen swastika signs on a synagogue in Allawah.
Police were at the scene on Friday morning checking for clues after the place of worship in Railway Ave, Allawah was defaced by vandals who sprayed a large black Swastika sign at the entrance of the building.
Two men in hoodies and wearing masks were seen loitering around the synagogue between 4am and 5am.
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said it was a “disgusting and awful attack” which happened in a “short window” while police were conducting patrols as part of Operation Shelter.
He said police had a “number of leads to follow up on” and vowed to catch the offenders saying, “you will get caught (and) you will get prosecuted”.
Assistant Commissioner McKenna said the counter-terrorism team would also assist with the investigation.
Red Swastikas and several black ones were sprayed on the white walls of the synagogue.
People who had seen the security footage told The Daily Telegraph two masked people were seen outside the synagogue.
They said a man was seen painting a Swastika on a wall, and what appears to be a woman stood on the footpath watching.
A local Jewish man said the incident happened minutes before one of the six annual fasting events was about to start.
President of the synagogue George Foster said “I received a call from the police at around 4.30am saying they had driven by and there was graffiti all over the synagogue.
“Looking at the CCTV it seems there were two men in black hoodies and masks who were spraying the walls of the synagogue.
“It is deeply distressing but it’s almost inevitable given the background on the rise of anti-Semitism currently.
“My parents were holocaust survivors and this has echoes of Germany 1933 with people singling out Jewish shops, religious institutions and homes by painting them with anti-Semitic signs. It’s unbelievable this happening in Australia.”
It’s not the first time the synagogue has been subject to an attack.
In 1991, it was firebombed with Mr Foster saying the offenders had never been found.
The synagogue was also graffitied in 2002.
Police have spent the morning sifting through CCTV footage in the area in a bid to net the culprits.
NSW Premier Chris Minns was seen speaking with members of the synagogue on Friday morning, as forensic police officers inspected the scene.
He said the attack, which happened around the corner from his house, was “disgusting”.
“The Southern Sydney Synagogue was vandalised in a horrifying, hate-filled attack, by individuals that have got hate in their hearts, that are determined to divide our community in two,” he said
“It was a monstrous act and I think that the painting of a Swastika on a Jewish building shows you everything you need to know about how appalling these particular individuals are and what their ultimate aim is when it comes to members of the Jewish community.”
Mr Minns added: “Having spoken to the president and vice president … I know that they’re appalled, but they don’t believe … that this is representative of the community’s acceptance and closeness to the Jewish community in southern Sydney”.
Banks MP David Coleman labelled the synagogue attack in his electorate as “disgraceful and disgusting”.
“The anti-Semitic attack … must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman condemned the attack as “vile.”
“This is vile, unapologetic anti-Semitism. Swastikas are the mark of hatred, and this attack is yet another direct assault on our Jewish community and what we stand for as a nation. This isn’t just vandalism — it’s an attack designed to instil fear and terror,” he said.
“Every effort must be made by police to catch the criminals responsible and to stop the attacks and by the justice system to impose harsh penalties on the perpetrators.”
The attack comes days after a car in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was daubed with the words “F**k Jews”.
Anti-Semitic attacks have risen across Australia 316 per cent since the October 7 atrocities.
There have been 2062 anti-Semitic incidents targeting Australia’s 100,000 Jews in the 12 months to September, up from 495 last year.
A report published by the ECAJ – which sources confidential complaints made to Jewish community organisations, internal security and to the council itself – reveals a 491 per cent spike in physical assaults since the October 7 attacks in Israel last year.
The circulation of anti-Semitic posters has risen 679 per cent, verbal abuse 230 per cent and graffiti 214 per cent.
David Ossip, president of the Jewish Board of Deputies, said: “Offenders must be prosecuted and receive penalties sufficient to ensure that such conduct is deterred and not normalised.”
He pleaded for attacks on Jews to stop.
“Enough is enough,” he said.
“It isn’t normal or acceptable that Australians are having to wake up every morning filled with apprehension about whether or not there’s been another anti-Semitic hate crime overnight.
“This illegal behaviour is reprehensible and undermines the social harmony and cohesion which we all treasure.
“We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitised to acts of Jew-hatred and allow illegal conduct such as this to become normalised.”
He added: “The alleged offenders must be swiftly identified and prosecuted and receive penalties sufficient to ensure that such conduct is deterred and not normalised.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin condemned the attack, saying: “The community expects swift arrests to be made and for those who deface houses of worship with the symbol of genocide to face the full force of the law.
“As long as these people evade justice for trying to terrorise Australian citizens, it will continue. We’re also calling on our fellow Australians, particularly those in positions of influence across society, to end the silence and publicly denounce this behaviour as repugnant to our national values and a threat to us all.”
Oatley MP Mark Coure said he was “utterly disgusted”.
“This vile act of anti-Semitism is an attack not only on our local Jewish community but on the values of respect, inclusion, and unity that we as a society stand for,” he said.
“I call on the authorities to act swiftly to investigate this crime and ensure that the individuals responsible are brought to justice.”
He added that “hate has no place here” and it was time to show solidarity with our Jewish neighbours
Police from St George Police Area Command are investigating.
“Offensive graffiti was spray painted on a synagogue in Sydney’s south west,” a spokesman said.
“The incident is believed to have occurred between 3.55am and 4.30am [on Friday] on Railway Parade, Allawah.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Originally published as Vandals paint Swastika signs on synagogues at Newtown and Allawah