Australian synagogue graffitied with swastikas in latest antisemitic attack

Australian authorities denounced “hate-filled” vandals who daubed swastikas and other graffiti on a Sydney synagogue in the early hours of Friday, the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish places of worship.

The vandalism on the Southern Sydney Synagogue came little over a month after masked arsonists gutted a Melbourne synagogue, prompting the government to create a federal task force targeting antisemitism.

Footage showed multiple swastikas painted on the building, along with a message reading “Hitler on top” and the partly obscured words “Allah hu Akbar.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference there was “no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity.”

Australia has seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war in Gaza. Some Jewish organizations have said the government has not taken sufficient action in response.

The Sydney vandalism was “a hate-filled attack by individuals that have got hate in their hearts,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told journalists.

“I think the painting of a swastika on a Jewish building shows you everything you need to know about how appalling these particular individuals are and what their ultimate aim is.”

Police said they had increased protection of synagogues around Sydney.

HURSTVILLE SYNAGOGUE IN SOUTHERN SYDNEY THIS MORNING

Anyone want to argue this is not ugly raw antisemitism?

ANOTHER synagogue attacked in Australia. This is a consequence of weak political leadership and lack of effective law enforcement.

President of the synagogue George… pic.twitter.com/51kP66l3Mu

— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) January 9, 2025

Investigators will review all CCTV in the area, New South Wales police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna said.

“It’s abhorrent. It’s not the Australian way, as I said, and people who do this sort of thing should realize that we will be out in force to look for them. We will catch them. We will prosecute them,” he told reporters.

Last month Australian federal police launched a special operation to investigate an increase in antisemitic threats and violence since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

Jewish leaders say prejudice against their community has reached unprecedented levels, with most incidents reported in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s largest cities, where 85 percent of the nation’s Jewish population live.

A report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) found that Australian Jews experienced more than 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents over the past year, more than quadruple the number from the previous year.

A total of 2,062 incidents were recorded between October 2023 and September 2024, far more than the 495 incidents noted a year earlier. The total did not include antisemitic statements made on social media.

In December an arson attack targeted a Melbourne synagogue in what leaders called a terrorist act. Police have been searching for three suspects in the attack, but no arrests have been announced as of yet.