From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Second suspect arrested for attack on Australia’s Newtown Synagogue
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Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
A day after a 33-year-old man was arrested for allegedly vandalizing and attempting to set fire to the Newtown Synagogue earlier this month, a second suspect has also been apprehended, Australia’s New South Wales Police Force says.
The 37-year-old man was caught this afternoon at a Darling Harbour hotel after Strike Force Pearl detectives located and tasered him. He was assessed by paramedics before being taken to a police station.
The Newtown Synagogue was attacked on January 11 before dawn, when vandals spray-painted red swastikas outside the synagogue’s entrance and tried to burn it down. Security videos showed that there were two men working together.
Strike Force Pearl was established in December 2024 after the arson attack on the Adass Synagogue to investigate antisemitic hate crimes in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The team includes counter-terrorism and special tactics officers.
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