Eleven arrests, over a dozen attacks: Sydney’s wave of antisemitic horror

Eleven people have been arrested after a spate of antisemitic attacks that have sent shockwaves through Sydney’s Jewish community.

The latest arrest comes after a caravan laden with enough explosives to create a 40-metre blast wave was found in Sydney’s north-west. A note suggested a Jewish synagogue could be a target.

Police are averaging more than 300 patrols a day in at-risk areas, while the number of detectives allocated to investigate has doubled to 40 under Strike Force Pearl as authorities scramble to arrest those believed to be responsible.

The attacks have mainly occurred in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, which have large Jewish communities, and have escalated in frequency and severity following the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre.

October 17 and October 20: Bondi businesses set alight. Four charged.

On October 17, Curly Lewis Brewing Company in Bondi was set alight in what police suspect was a case of mistaken identity. Three days later on October 20, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher cafe and catering business in Bondi, was also lit on fire, destroying it.

Four men have been charged, including Guy Finnegan, 31. Finnegan pleaded guilty and was given a 10-month sentence over the fire at the Bondi brewery, which NSW Police plan to appeal as inadequate.

November 21: Youths torch Woollahra cars and vandalise buildings. Three charged.

Two men wearing masks and hoodies were captured on CCTV fleeing from the scene of an eastern suburbs vandalism attack in which a ute was set on fire, multiple cars damaged and Matt Moran’s Chiswick restaurant graffitied with anti-Israel messages.

More than a dozen vehicles and three buildings were graffitied along Wellington Street in the attack, causing damage estimated at more than $100,000.

Three men were charged: Mohammed Farhat, 20, and Thomas Stojanovski, 19, faced court last week, each charged with 14 counts of destroying or damaging property, along with trespassing offences and offensive behaviour charges.

The third man, a 21-year-old, is due to face court in March for failing to disclose the identity of a driver/passenger.

December 11: Woollahra targeted again. One charged.

Just a few weeks later the same suburb was targeted. On December 11 vandals sprayed anti-Israel messages, including “Death 2 Israiel” and “Kill Israiel” on two homes and a footpath along Magney Street in Woollahra.

Tammie Farrugia briefly appeared in Liverpool Local Court on Tuesday.Credit: Facebook

A small red hatchback, believed to be stolen, was also set alight.

Tammie Farrugia, 34, was arrested and charged with participating in a criminal group, being an accessory before the fact to destroy or damage property and being in a stolen car. Farrugia had allegedly posted on Facebook requesting plastic Jerry cans in the days before the attack.

January 10: Sydney synagogue graffitied. No arrests.

Southern Sydney Synagogue was sprayed with multiple swastikas and a reference to Hitler. CCTV captured two hooded figures dressed in black loitering outside the building on Railway Parade, Allawah.

Police have released the footage of the two people wanted, however, no arrests have been made.

Police have released vision of two people wanted over graffiti sprayed on the walls of the Southern Sydney Synagogue at Allawah.Credit: NSW Police

January 11: Failed arson attempt at inner west synagogue. Two charged.

Two people allegedly attempted to set an inner west synagogue alight while spray-painting antisemitic graffiti on the building.

The Newtown Synagogue was the second religious building to be targeted in as many days.

The same night, antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on a house and five parked cars on Henry Street in Queens Park, while offensive comments were also written on a poster on Marrickville Road, Marrickville.

A man has been charged after an alleged attempt to set a religious building on fire in Sydney.Credit: NSW Police

Police from Strike Force Pearl, which includes counter-terrorism investigators, executed two search warrants at homes on Pyrmont Bridge Road in Camperdown.

Thirty-three-year-old Adam Moulde and 37-year-old Leon Sofila have been arrested and charged over the incident.

January 17: Jewish leader’s former home targeted. No arrests.

The former home of prominent Jewish Australian Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin was targeted in a firebombing, with two vehicles set ablaze, and multiple other vehicles vandalised with antisemitic graffiti in Dover Heights.

Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin visited his former home hours after the attack last week.Credit: James Brickwood

His former home, which was sold in 2023, was also splashed with red paint.

CCTV shows two people dressed in dark clothing pouring accelerant on the road before setting it alight. No arrests have been made.

January 21: Childcare centre firebombed. No arrests.

In the most recent attack, the Only About Children Daycare Centre in Maroubra was set alight and graffitied with an offensive slogan.

The damage is significant, with the centre closed until further notice.

The centre was owned by an eastern suburbs Jewish family until 2023, and it is situated near Maroubra Synagogue and Mount Sinai College – an Orthodox Jewish school and preschool.

January 20: Caravan of explosives discovered. One arrest.

A caravan parked on the roadside of Derriwong Road, Dural, was found to have enough explosives to create a 40-metre blast wave. The explosives were believed to have been stolen from a mine site, with the address of a synagogue found in the caravan.

The caravan had been parked on the roadside in a hazardous position between December 7 and January 19, until a local called police, who seized the caravan. The public was told about the finding nine days later, on January 29. The Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, involving more than 100 officers, has taken over the investigation.

The owner of the caravan was taken into custody on Wednesday but has yet to be charged.

Businesses and worshippers targeted

Additional cafes and restaurants across Sydney and on the Central Coast have also been vandalised.

• On October 13, Avner’s bakery in Surry Hills, owned by a Jewish TV chef, was targeted with antisemitic graffiti and a note reading “be careful”. No charges have been laid.
• On November 12, Shaffa restaurant in Surry Hills was spray-painted with “child murder” and “steal our identity”, with images of injured children and protests affixed to its exterior. No charges have been laid.
• On January 4, worshippers outside a synagogue on Link Road in St Ives were allegedly threatened by a man as he drove past. One man has been arrested over this incident, however, it is being investigated separately from Strike Force Pearl.
• On January 12, a man painted a Nazi symbol on a pharmacy in Hamilton, Newcastle. Bjorn Johnson, 47, has faced court over the incident but has not been found guilty. It is being investigated separately from Strike Force Pearl.
• On January 16, a 44-year-old Blacktown man was charged by the Australian Federal Police with allegedly making death threats to members of a Jewish organisation via social media. He is the first person to be charged under the AFP’s Special Operation Avalite investigating antisemitism.

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