Minns condemns ‘animals’ over attack on former home of Jewish community leader

The NSW Premier condemned ‘animals’ behind a ‘barbaric’ anti-Semitic attack as he announced hate-speech law reform to target people ‘promoting hatred’ of Jews.

Premier Chris Minns speaks on Friday in Sydney after the overnight Dover Heights attack, flanked by Police Minister Yasmin Catley and assistant police Commissioner Peter McKenna.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has called the perpetrators behind Sydney’s latest anti-Semitic attack “animals” with “hate-filled hearts” and said the overnight strike in the eastern suburbs, which saw cars set ablaze and a house doused in red paint, was “barbaric”.

Mr Minns also announced concrete changes to protest laws to protect places of worship and, significantly, a strengthening of the state’s hate-speech laws to possibly outlaw the incitement of hatred, not just violence.

It comes after two cars were torched and others vandalised with “f..k Jews” graffiti overnight in Dover Heights, a prominent Jewish suburb in Sydney’s east.

The former home of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin, was sprayed with red paint, in what authorities said was unlikely a coincidence and Mr Minns called “horrifying scenes”.

“There are horrifying, anti-Semitic, violence attacks,” Mr Minns said.

“I never thought I’d see this kind of naked racism and anti-Semitism repeating itself on Sydney’s streets in such an organised, horrifying manner.

“Incidents of anti-Semitism and violent behaviour are increasing… (and) we have to stand together to condemn it unambiguously and send a clear message to these animals that their actions will not be tolerated.”

NSW Police are investigating the latest incident, which follows three synagogues being targeted last week with similar anti-Semitic graffiti.

Strike Force Pearl has a 20-detective team to investigate the raft of attacks, which is separate from the Australian Federal Police’s Special Operation Avalite.

Some 124 reports of anti-Semitism or anti-Semitic threats have been reported since Avalite’s inception, including 102 still under investigation.

Mr Minns conceded that each attack could not be viewed in a vacuum and explained his motivation for strengthening hate-speech laws upon state parliament’s return in February.

Image of torched and vandalised cars in Dover Heights, and Mr Ryvchin’s former home doused with red paint.

Police at the scene of the attack. Picture: John Appleyard

“We will be pursuing changes to the law to protect places of worship, but also changes to hate speech laws in NSW,” he said.

“I don’t think a firebombing in Sydney’s east is where it begins, but begins with individuals promoting, tolerating and highlighting hatred of our Jewish community.

“A synagogue being burnt down, homes targeted and vandalised – that’s where it ends, but it begins somewhere else… We’ve got a comprehensive response to this.”

NSW’s criminal hate-speech laws outlaw the incitement or threat of violence against protected groups, including religious and ethnic communities, enclosed in section 93Z of the state crime code.

Mr Minns suggested that he could include the “incitement of hatred” within the criminal drafting of the legislation, saying it shouldn’t be on citizens themselves to seek justice via the civil courts.

“We’re looking at this (including ‘hatred’ in the criminal provision)... something needs to change,” he said.

The Australian has extensively covered hate speech emerging from fringe Islamic centres in western Sydney, predominantly targeting the Jewish community, and strong criticism of the existing laws, which were sent to a law reform review in mid-2024.

Mr Minns spoke with Mr Ryvchin - who has been one of the strongest voices against anti-Semitism in the last 15 months, after the incident, and said the ECAJ’s co-convener personified “resilience”.

“I was struck by how resilient and absolutely fortified his commitment to (his) cause he is, and his resoluteness,” Mr Minns said of Mr Ryvchin, who will address the media later today.

“It is a true insight into his character that he is not taking a backward step under any circumstances, and he will not be cowed.”

Mr Minns said he would be “open” to a national cabinet to tackle escalating anti-Semitism, but pointed to recent meetings with Anthony Albanese, adding it was more important that state and federal police were working off the same hymn sheet, which they were.

“(That collaboration) has been the case for a long period of time,” he said.

“My responsibility is to ensure we’re communicating with the federal government, and that public messaging from the NSW government is unambiguous, and that anti-Semitic attacks will never be tolerated and we’ll do everything we can to confront it.”

NSW Police are not at this stage investigating the Dover Heights incident as a terrorist attack, but will continue to pursue leads, motivation, and investigate whether it was linked to any of the other assaults now stretching back to November when Woollahra was first targeted.

Assistant police Commissioner Peter McKenna said the resources afforded to Strike Force Pearl were “significant”, something the premier said he would strengthen and add to if needed.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin. Picture: Dan Peled

“(The strike force’s work) is going back months, looking at each offence committed,” Mr McKenna said.

“We don’t stop after a week, we take on (the cases) until we get results.”

The strike force falls under Operation Shelter, which has been running since October 2023 to combat rising levels of hatred, vilification and attacks, and has now arrested 179 people and laid charges for over 452 offences.

“We will not give up, we will follow every lead,” Mr McKenna said.

“(Anti-Semitism is) not acceptable in Sydney, it’s not acceptable in Australia, and we will have every detective that we need, every resource we need, to get to the bottom of these crimes.”

Many Jewish Australians have said they felt unsafe in Australia, particularly Sydney, with one family telling The Australian on Friday that they had discussed moving to Israel between themselves.

From left: NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley, Premier Chris Minns, Police Commissioner Karen Webb, assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna and NSW Jewish Board of Deputies David Ossip president on Friday. Picture: John Appleyard

Mr Minns said that fact was “devastating”.

“That’s something I’m very concerned about,” he said.

“The Jewish community has contributed so much to our state, so for them to feel unsafe in their own homes, places of worship… It is devastating to hear stories like that (Jewish Australians thinking of migrating away).

“Australia is the second-largest home to Holocaust survivors in the world, and they came to Australia because they felt they would be free of this kind of anti-Semitism… But I want them to know that the vast majority of civil society stands with them against these barbaric anti-Semitic, animalistic acts.”