New antisemitic attacks in Australia, just days after Melbourne synagogue was torched with people inside

Just days after a Melbourne synagogue was torched last Friday, a vehicle was set on fire and two buildings spray painted with anti-Israel graffiti outside of Sydney, Australian authorities reported on Wednesday.

“The incident in Sydney is an outrage and another antisemitic attack. I will be briefed by AFP Operation Avalite officials this morning. I stand with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemn this attack. There is no place for hatred or antisemitism in our community,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on 𝕏 on Tuesday.

AFP Operation Avalite is a task force against antisemitism that was established this week in response to the attack last Friday morning on the Adass Synagogue in Melbourne.

Speaking to ABC Radio, Albanese said that those behind the attacks were importing a foreign conflict into Australia,

“This is an attack. This isn't an attack on a government: this is an attack on people because they happen to be Jewish…”

The Australian leader expressed gratitude for the warm welcome received during a meeting with Jewish community leaders and family members in Melbourne, following a visit to the Adass Synagogue.

Albanese continued his statement: “These are people, who are Australians, going about their lives as Australians. And the idea that we take a conflict overseas and bring it here is something that is quite contrary to what Australia was built on, which is one where we, our great strength, comes from the fact that people can live of different faiths, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, side by side. And we're strengthened by that diversity. We respect each other. And this is a hate crime. It's as simple as that.”

According to New South Wales State Police, two people wearing face coverings and dark clothing were seen close to the neighborhood where the car caught fire in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which is an area with a large Jewish population.

The premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns, underscored that there was nothing random about the attack.

“I don't think there is any point in sugarcoating it or trying to downplay it. This isn't just a random act of destruction, this was specifically designed to incite hate,” Minns said at a media briefing.

The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) said in a post on 𝕏 that it had warned the government several times of possible violent attacks, but that the government had chosen to ignore it. 

“For 14 months, the Albanese Government was warned by us and others that their actions and rhetoric were destroying social cohesion in this country. Now, a year of vicious Labor attacks on the Jewish state and inaction on antisemitism are coming home to roost,” AJA CEO Robert Gregory wrote.

“The Jews are being attacked in the streets and a synagogue was torched. A respected international human rights organisation has issued a travel warning for Jewish people to Australia. The Australian Jewish Association has been subjected to numerous death threats. It is dishonest to say this wasn't foreseeable and indeed the government was warned on many occasions that this is where they were leading Australia.”

“Government ministers can't resist pouring fuel on the fire and obsessively attacking Israel, including just yesterday. The latest anti-Jewish arson attack, the second one in weeks in Woollahra is a turning point. We fear that someone may be killed or seriously injured next. If the Albanese Government cannot protect Australians, they must seriously consider stepping down and allowing someone else to do so.”

There has been a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents across Australia since the Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Antisemitic cases numbering 2,062 were recorded between October 2023 and September 2024 in Australia, according to a report compiled by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ). By comparison, a mere 495 antisemitic cases were reported during the previous year.