Report: Sydney antisemitic arson attack, with self-styled ‘James Bond’ at helm, preceded by bungled attempts

After Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Iran was found to be behind a pair of antisemitic arson attacks in 2024, court documents published by The Sydney Morning Herald show how one of those descended into chaos at the hands of local Sydney criminals and a gangster styling himself as “James Bond.”

Australia’s national security service says it identified Iranian government involvement in at least two firebombing attacks — on the kosher Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney in October and the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne in December.

However, according to The Sydney Morning Herald report, the Bondi attack was preceded by two failed attempts on the wrong venue.

The alleged mastermind, Nomads motorbike chapter president Sayed Moosawi, directed the operation using the messaging app Signal, using the alias “James Bond.”

Moosawi arrived Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2005 and has a long record of violent crime, the report says.

Moosawi allegedly said he was paid $12,000 to organize a fire in Sydney’s Bondi, according to the report.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Moosawi allegedly recruited Wayne Ogden and Juon Amuoi to attack the kosher Lewis’ Continental Kitchen on Curlewis Street in September 2024, but the pair fled after being spotted near the similarly named Curly Lewis Brewery, a beachfront bar with no Jewish connections.

Moosawi was furious, allegedly telling Ogden in an expletive-filled message that a ” f—ing 16 years kid could of got it done.”

Weeks later, two other men, Guy Finnegan and Craig Bantoft, were recruited to attack Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, reportedly for $4,000.

However, they mistakenly went to the same beachfront brewery on October 17, 2024, and set a small fire that was quickly doused by sprinklers.

Furious at the repeated bungles, Moosawi allegedly berated his crew over Signal: “Use [sic] f—ed the whole thing … It’s not even 2% burned f— me dead.”

Police arrested Finnegan within 24 hours, but Ogden allegedly returned days later to do the job.

According to the report, at 2:30 a.m. on October 20, he allegedly broke into Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, poured fuel across the premises, and ignited a blaze that caused more than $1 million in damage and forced nearby residents to evacuate.

Bantoft and Finnegan have since pleaded guilty over the brewery fire and are serving prison sentences. Ogden and Amuoi are awaiting trial on October 21, as is Moosawi, who was granted bail this month after posting $2 million surety, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.