Australian police arrest alleged mastermind of string of antisemitic attacks

Australia’s New South Wales police said Wednesday they charged the alleged ringleader of a string of antisemitic attacks that shook Sydney’s Jewish community earlier this year, including attacks on Jewish schools and the privately-owned home of a Jewish leader.

The announcement was the latest breakthrough in recent weeks for investigators, who have spent months searching for suspects for different attacks on Jewish targets in Australia without success.

Last month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed intelligence that Iran was behind a pair of antisemitic arson attacks in the country in 2024. Police also recently arrested suspects for an arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in December.

However, the official gave no indication that the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Tarek Zahabe, was connected to Iran, and it appeared he had been acting independently.

Police said Wednesday that Zahabe was arrested in July and accused of orchestrating the January attacks. The arrests followed months of investigations by Strike Force Pearl, a police task force established earlier this year in Sydney to investigate the antisemitic attacks.

Investigators said Zahabe was responsible for attacking a child-care center near the Maroubra Synagogue, which was set on fire and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on January 21. He was also charged with vandalizing a Jewish school in Maroubra with antisemitic slurs on January 30.

Earlier that month, on January 17, Zahabe was accused of ordering an attack on the former home of Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin. The house was splashed with red paint, and several cars outside were set on fire, with antisemitic graffiti scrawled across one burned-out vehicle.

Police confirmed on Thursday that Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), was intentionally targeted in that attack, something they hadn’t conceded previously.

Police have also charged Zahabe and an alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Kye Pickering, in relation to an incident on January 10, when the Allawah synagogue was defaced. Detectives say Zahabe directed and assisted Pickering in carrying out the vandalism.

Zahabe faces two counts of participating in a criminal group to contribute to criminal activity and knowingly or recklessly directing a criminal group to assist in crime. Pickering has been charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol without excuse, destroying or damaging property worth more than $2,000, and participating in a criminal group.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court on October 30.

“We thank the NSW Police for their tireless effort and determination in bringing these alleged offenders to justice,” the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies said on social media following the arrests. “Many in the community will sleep more soundly in the knowledge that at least some of these attackers are no longer a threat.”

Police stand near houses vandalized with anti-Israel slogans in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, Australia, December 11, 2024. (AP/Mark Baker)

Anti-Jewish activity in Australia skyrocketed after Hamas terrorists launched the war against Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. Some 2,062 incidents were recorded between October 2023 and September 2024, compared to 495 incidents a year earlier, according to data from ECAJ.

Australian Jews have been frustrated by what they say has been the government’s failure to rein in attacks and violent rhetoric. Strike Force Pearl is said to be investigating more than a dozen antisemitic incidents carried out in recent months.

The country’s recent decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September has aggravated a growing sense of alienation among the country’s 120,000-strong Jewish community and sparked a sharp war of words between Albanese’s government and Israeli officials.