Anti-Israel Graffiti In Woollahra ‘Financially Motivated’, Court Hears

A court has heard that a 21-year-old Sydney man behind a slew of anti-Israel graffiti in Woollahra last year was motivated by financial reasons, not antisemitism.

Police allege Thomas Stojanovski and Mohammed Farhat were captured on CCTV cameras spray-painting “fuck Israel” on a number of cars in Sydney’s east in November, with a vehicle also being set alight.

Nearby apartment blocks were also targeted, with the graffiti spreading across four streets. Police estimate that the combined damage to the cars and property amounts to between $90,000 and $120,000.

Later that month, Stojanovski was arrested incident, with a court hearing on Tuesday he had agreed to be paid $1,000 by his co-accused for the act.

Mohammed Farhat has already been sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 10 months.

“Wholly financially motivated” Magistrate finds

Magistrate Scott Nash said Stojanovski was not aware of the specifics of the job before the offence, and was motivated by the need to fund his illicit drug habit.

“I find that there is a reasonable and rational case in this particular circumstance that Mr Stojanovski was wholly financially motivated,” Magistrate Nash told the court, though he noted there was an “underlining intent to cause malicious damage”.

Magistrate Nash said Stojanovski had expressed remorse for his actions and pleaded guilty. He received an 11-month intensive corrections order, 87 hours of community service work for the 15 offences, and an order to pay $750.

At the time of the offence, Labor MP Josh Burns and the Liberal’s Dave Sharma, who was formerly the ambassador to Israel, held a cross-party press conference to condemn antisemitism “across the political aisle”.

“This is not an attack on one community, it is an attack on the values and social contract that holds us all together as Australians,” said Sharma.

More than a dozen people have been arrested and charged for a series of antisemitic vandalism attacks taking place over the last year.