source : the age
Copycat offenders and those “entrenched in criminal activity” may be behind a spate of antisemitic attacks across Sydney as police raise concerns about the escalation in the number and severity of incidents targeting the Jewish community.
There have been six antisemitic attacks in Sydney across the past two months. Cars have been torched, buildings vandalised, synagogues graffitied and worshippers threatened. Despite CCTV footage being recovered from many of the crime scenes, most offenders remain at large.
Members of the Jewish community walk past the Dover Heights home targeted in the latest antisemitic attack.Credit: James Brickwood
The most recent attack on Friday targeted the former Dover Heights home of high-profile Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin, with the house splashed with red paint, and two cars outside the property graffitied with anti-Jewish slurs and set alight.
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said the attacks were designed to cause “maximum damage and intimidation” and police were investigating whether they were linked.
“A number of our leads include people who are either well known or entrenched in criminal activity … there’s certainly evidence to date that there are people involved in the criminal element who are behind some of these attacks,” McKenna told the Herald.
“There’s also a likelihood of there being copycat-style attacks [and] juveniles involved where they probably don’t even realise the significance [of their actions].”
Seven people have been arrested by Strike Force Pearl, which was set up to investigate rising cases of antisemitism in Sydney. A 34-year-old woman was the latest charged on Monday over a graffiti and arson attack on Magney Street, Woollahra, in December.
Police have also arrested 179 people in connection with 452 offences as part of Operation Shelter, which was launched to address community tensions after the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
McKenna said proactive policing efforts had been increased to address the “uptick and escalation” in attacks.
There have been 34,750 “taskings” under Operation Shelter in which police patrol areas of concern such as synagogues, mosques or suburbs at risk. Around 10,000 of those patrols took place in the past four weeks.
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna says the antisemitic attacks are designed to cause “maximum damage and intimidation”.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip welcomed the additional police resources to respond to the escalation of attacks. “Those responsible [must be] swiftly identified, prosecuted and receive penalties sufficient to restore deterrence,” he said.
Following last week’s attack in Dover Heights, Premier Chris Minns pledged to strengthen the state’s hate speech laws to align them with the “minimum standard” in other jurisdictions. He pointed to “tougher” Victoria’s laws but was reluctant to provide more detail on reform.
“There are bad actors out there that are intent on vilifying an individual on the basis of race or religion and as a result … it picks apart at the seams of multicultural fabric that we have,” he said.
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said tougher hate speech laws would be “reactive” and “politically motivated”.
“The widely criticised changes will affect all people and will come at the expense of fundamental freedoms, limiting everyone’s right to protest and organise for justice,” he said.
“[It is] a direct attempt to silence opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, weaponising the law to suppress calls for justice and accountability.”
Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh, who is Jewish, Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun, who is a Muslim, and Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne will host a roundtable on February 6 to address rising extremism in Sydney.
“Recent events and especially the escalation of antisemitism is fracturing our social cohesion and making our community feel less safe,” Nemesh said.
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