Counterterrorism squad called in as Sydney synagogue attacks escalate

 

Sydney Morning Herald

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Counterterrorism squad called in as Sydney synagogue attacks escalate

Story by Megan Gorrey


Premier Chris Minns and the state’s top cop have vowed authorities will find and punish perpetrators who tried to set fire to an inner Sydney synagogue as they condemned sections of the community responsible for protecting suspected offenders.

Opening up a new front in the state’s fight against antisemitism, Minns warned on Sunday there was “no place for people who knowingly protect these people from consequences” and “bastards out there who are determined to rip our community in two” should face the “full force of the law”.



Police are investigating graffiti sprayed on the Newtown Synagogue on Saturday morning.© Dion Georgopoulos


“There is no place for people who commit acts like the vile ones we have seen over the past week and there is no place for people who knowingly protect these people from consequences,” Minns said. “The fact is someone must recognise the people in these images.

“I cannot be clearer. What has happened is a crime and anyone who has knowledge of a crime has an absolute duty to report it to the police.”

Police from the counterterrorism unit are leading the investigation into two unidentified offenders who spray-painted swastika symbols on Newtown Synagogue before using a clear liquid to ignite a fire which burnt itself out within minutes on Saturday. On Friday, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah was vandalised with antisemitic graffiti, including swastikas and a reference to Hitler.

Minns said the use of a fire accelerant signalled a “very concerning” step up in the severity of antisemitic crimes. He said the incidents compounded a “massive spike in antisemitic hate crime in NSW over the last 12 months, and it needs to be met with the full force of the law”.

“This escalation is very concerning, not just for the Jewish community, but for the wider community. We are, of course, appalled to see antisemitic crime on the streets of Sydney in NSW,” Minns said.

The attack comes a month after a Melbourne synagogue was firebombed, also with the use of what Victorian police described as a liquid. The blaze gutted the building, leaving charred ruins, a tangle of wiring and a collapsed roof.

NSW Police have released CCTV images showing people they believe can help with their inquiries at Newtown and Allawah.

Minns said someone must recognise their faces and stressed there was “absolutely no place for racism, bigotry or antisemitism in NSW”.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the probes into the antisemitic attacks in this state had been taken over by the counter-terrorism command under Strike Force Pearl in the past 24 hours. The state crime command and local police officers would also continue to investigate.

She said the use of an accelerant was “an escalation in the level of criminality” that “could [have caused] the death of individuals if that fire had taken hold”.


“These are serious crimes. These are not just hate crimes. They’re malicious damage and they’re intentional.”

Webb said police were not investigating the attack as a terrorism incident, but: “Let’s be clear, whether it’s terrorism or not, this is a crime, and it deserves the full extent of the law.”

Detectives had not ruled out the possibility the Newtown and Allawah incidents were linked. Webb said officers were also probing whether there were any connections between the Newtown incident and arson attacks on businesses linked to the Jewish community last year.

“I appeal to anyone out there who knows who has perpetrated these disgusting offences to come forward and tell police who they are. We will continue pursuing them until we find them.”

On Friday, Minns condemned the “appalling” offenders who vandalised the synagogue in his Kogarah electorate.


“There are, unfortunately, some bastards out there who are determined to rip our community in two, and they should be ashamed of the actions that they’ve taken this morning, not just in south Sydney, but across metropolitan Sydney in the last few months.

“It’s the opposite of the community that we want to live in. It doesn’t represent our values.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the only way to deter perpetrators was through “swift arrests and severe punishment”.

National Council of Jewish Women Australia president Lynda Ben-Menashe, who grew up attending Newtown Synagogue, was “sickened by this latest chapter in the campaign of vilification and harassment of our Jewish community”.

“All Australians are at risk when a tiny minority like the Jewish community is the target of hate.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said: “The hateful criminals who attacked Newtown Synagogue weren’t just attempting to deface a place of worship, they were seeking to destroy it.


“We are a strong and resilient community which remains unbowed in the face of continued attempts to intimidate and menace us”.

Police are also investigating graffiti on a house and five parked cars on Henry Street in Queens Park, which they believe occurred after 11.30pm Friday. Offensive comments written on a poster on Marrickville Road, Marrickville, were also reported to police on Saturday.

Another incident took place in Newcastle on Sunday morning, where a 47-year-old man was arrested after allegedly painting an offensive symbol on a wall outside a chemist earlier in the day. The man was charged with intentionally marking a premises without consent and displaying a Nazi symbol. The man has been refused bail and will appear at Newcastle Local Court on Monday.