Car Set Ablaze And Buildings Graffitied In Woollahra
A car has been set on fire and buildings spray-painted with anti-Israel graffiti overnight in Sydney’s east.
NSW Police were called to Magney Street, Woollahra, at 1am on Wednesday after reports were made of a vehicle on fire.
Officers found two vehicles, the footpath, and the resident buildings to have been vandalised, with some of the graffiti expressing anti-Israeli sentiment.
Police said that the car on fire had likely been stolen and driven to the area by the perpetrators, who then set it alight to destroy the evidence.
“It was not a resident’s car,” said assistant police commissioner Peter McKenna. “So it’s the graffiti itself and the antisemitic remarks that they have spray-painted on those houses and footpaths that we are investigating.”
Although this comes less than a month after a similar incident only a few streets away, investigators do not believe they are linked. Two men have been charged with over 20 offences each in relation to the former ever, and are currently in custody until
Police are looking to speak with two people believed to have been in the vicinity at the time. They had slim builds, were aged between 15 and 20, and wore face coverings and dark clothing.
Politicians react, deem graffiti “disgusting”
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the incident was an “antisemitic attack” and a “hate crime”.
“Civic and civil society is completely appalled by these acts of violence,” he told reporters.
“This is an attack on our community and the Jewish community in Sydney. It is antisemitic and needs to be met with a full response from NSW police and the NSW government.”
Minns told reporters he had spoke to Israel’s ambassador to Australia and assure him “we regard this as a disgusting display of antisemitism and the vast, vast majority of people that live in NSW are horrified by it and recognise Israel as an ally and friend of Australia”.
Allegra Spender, Federal MP of the area said the community would not accept antisemitic behaviour.
“We want to be extremely clear that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable and is not tolerated in our community and the best way to convince people of that is actually for people to be arrested and charged.”
Anthony Albanese also commented on the vandalism, calling it an “outrage”.
“I stand with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemn this attack,” he said. “There’s no place for antisemitism in this country, or anywhere for that matter.
“This is an attack on people because they happen to be Jewish. The idea that we take a conflict overseas and bring it here is something that is quite contrary to what Australia was built on, which is one where we have great strength [that] comes from the fact that people can live with different faiths, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, side by side. This is a hate crime. It’s as simple as that.”
The Prime Minister said he has spoken to the Australian Federal Police commissioner and is expecting a briefing by officers from a new anti-Semitism taskforce.
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