SYDNEY: Vandals daubed anti-Israel graffiti in a Sydney suburb on Wednesday, police said, sparking “outrage” from Australia’s government days after a Melbourne synagogue was set ablaze.
Police said they were seeking two people aged 15-20 who wore face coverings in relation to the incident, in which a car was also torched in the early hours.
Graffiti was spread over the burned car, another vehicle, two buildings and a footpath, state police said.
Images on local media showed the misspelled phrase “Kill Israiel” painted in black on a white wall in the eastern suburb of Woollahra, which has a long-established Jewish community.
A contractor painted over the graffiti soon afterwards.
“The incident in Sydney is an outrage and another anti-Semitic attack,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on social media.
“I stand with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemn this attack. There is no place for hatred or anti-Semitism in our country.”
The Australian leader said he would be briefed by a federal police task force that was set up this week to investigate anti-Semitic attacks.
Albanese had toured the charred remains of the Melbourne synagogue the day before, urging the country to unite in the face of the “evil” arson attack.
Counter-terror police are hunting for three suspects believed responsible for setting fire to the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in the early hours of Friday.
The synagogue blaze was met with international condemnation, including from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused the Australian government of harboring “anti-Israel sentiment.”
The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.
A body representing Australia’s Jewish community said the Sydney graffiti and car-burning was designed to “terrorize.”
“How long will this continue and with what horrors will it end?” asked Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
“We ask that you stand with us. March with us. Don’t let this evil tear our country to pieces.”
The New South Wales state premier, Chris Minns, said the Sydney incident was “shocking.”
“This is not the Sydney we want. These racist attempts to divide our city will not work,” the premier said.
The perpetrators “will be found and they will face the full force of the law,” he said.
Australian PM says anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney an ‘outrage’
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Australian PM says anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney an ‘outrage’
- “The incident in Sydney is an outrage and another anti-Semitic attack,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on social media
