Unearthed: New anti-Semitic slurs by ‘caravan terror’ plot suspect, as cops deny they endangered Jews

A fresh trove of hateful slurs by alleged ‘caravan terror plot’ mastermind Sayet Erhan Akca have been unearthed, as police scramble to deny they helped increase vilification of Jews.

Sayet Erhan Akca with wife Georgia, who is not accused of any wrongdoing.

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A new trove of anti-Semitic slurs by the alleged “caravan terror plot” mastermind has been unearthed, as police scramble to deny a stinging claim by Australia’s peak Jewish body that their dismissal of a hate motive behind a series of violent attacks has led to increased harassment and vilification of Jews.

Last week The Australian ­revealed that Sayet Erhan Akca, the fugitive alleged to be behind a string of arson and graffiti attacks on Jewish targets, had posted vile anti-Semitic slurs for years before fleeing Australia, after being charged with alleged drug importation offences.

The revelation followed earlier statements by police that the mastermind of the attacks was not motivated by racist or religious ideology but was simply hoping to leverage favourable treatment by providing fabricated information to police.

The police statements were used by Greens MPs and other crossbenchers to claim the attacks were “not motivated by anti-Semitism” and to ­demand NSW hate-speech laws should be repealed.

The Australian can now reveal more evidence that 35-year-old Akca held longstanding and publicly expressed anti-Semitic views, despite claims by police that the “Mr Big” – whose identity they have not yet publicly confirmed – was motivated by personal gain and not hate.

Many of the newly unearthed comments come in online conversations the former gym owner had with a fellow weightlifter named “Ronny” who claims he became a neo-Nazi after reading Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

On Facebook, Ronny posted a photo of a copy of the Nazi manifesto sitting between two skulls, with the words “Aryans assemble” below it. Akca responded “Rise of the 5th Reich. Heil Ronny”. Separately Akca posted: “I ain’t racist I have a Jew disorder.”

In one online conversation, Ronny claimed he had been banned from Facebook numerous times for hate speech and “the Jews r always watching me”. He told Akca: “Maybe they even hacked into your gym CCTV, who knows?”, to which Akca responds: “Zeig (sic) heil, Zeig Heil Zeig heil !!!!!”

Akca “liked” a statement by Ronny that “Hitler did nothing wrong” and when Ronny posted “Happy birthday mein fuhrer”, Akca responded: “Heil”.

In another, Ronny wrote: “Jesus was black. Das judens (the Jews) are wack”, to which Akca responds: “Double ranked! Heil.”

In yet another conversation, Ronny said: “I’m the new fuhrer. I’m not a white suprenesist (sic) but im an alpha male supremesist (sic). If you are a beta cuckold u will be exterminated / gassed …” to which Akca responds: “Zionists included”.

However, Akca was not just spouting off to friends on Facebook; he was also actively trolling Jewish groups. In January 2018, Akca wrote on the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (NSW JBD) Facebook page: “How did 6 million die when only 3.2 registered Jews in Europe at the time?”

Sayet Akca in his gym.

The following day, in response to a post by the JBD about vandals targeting the Jewish community by spraying swastikas on cars, Akca wrote “Zeig heil”.

The comments were recorded in a report on anti-Semitism in Australia in 2018 published by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Akca, 35, who owned the now-closed Fitness Republic Cabramatta gym, has been living in Asia and Turkey since leaving Australia in mid-2023 while on bail over charges of attempting to import a commercial quantity of drugs using the encrypted AN0M messaging app.

On Sunday, the AFP declined to answer a series of questions from The Australian, including whether it was aware of any anti-Semitic views by the individual it suspected of being the “mastermind” behind the attacks, and if so, why it had said the attacks were “concocted by criminals for personal benefit” but failed to draw attention to the alternative motivation of anti-Semitism.

An AFP spokeswoman said the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team – which includes the AFP – had stated that “regardless of the motivation of those responsible for this fake plot, this has had a chilling effect on the Jewish community”.

Sayet Akca with wife Georgia, who is not accused of any wrongdoing.

“It is clear in some cases that organised crime has engaged in anti-Semitism to further cause fear but also get the attention of law enforcement for personal gain”, the spokeswoman said.

On the weekend ECAJ co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told The Australian that the “reckless and irresponsible” dismissal or downplaying of anti-Semitism by police as a ­motivating factor had led to increased harassment and vilification of Jews.

“It has exposed dangerous failings by authorities, political leaders and public figures who chose to characterise the firebombings that hit Jewish targets as a hoax or con-job unconnected to anti-­Semitic ideology, and to do so ­before the investigation had been concluded,” he said.

The AFP declined to respond directly to Mr Ryvchin’s rebuke, the spokeswoman noting only that “what organised crime has done to the Jewish community is reprehensible, and it won’t go without consequence”.

NSW Police also declined to respond to specific questions, saying it “cannot confirm the identity of any person or persons of interest, and as the matter is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further comment to what is already on the public record”.

At a press conference last Monday, NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Hudson was asked specifically: “You don’t have evidence that it is being driven by hate, you say it’s alleged that it’s organised crime?”

“Correct”, Mr Hudson replied.

Sayet Akca boxing.

Earlier that day, in simultaneous dawn raids on Monday, police arrested 14 people in relation to the vandalism and firebombing attacks – bringing the total number of arrests under the state police hate crimes unit to 29, with 143 charges laid.

The plot appears to span from an anti-Semitic vandalism attack in Woollahra in December to the discovery on January 19 of the explosives-laden caravan in Dural, northwest Sydney. However, no one has yet been charged in relation to the caravan plot.