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Sydney childcare centre set alight and sprayed with antisemitic graffiti Sydney childcare centre set alight and sprayed with antisemitic graffiti
(about 1 hour later)
NSW premier Chris Minns says police will track down people behind Maroubra attack and foreshadows new anti-hatred lawsNSW premier Chris Minns says police will track down people behind Maroubra attack and foreshadows new anti-hatred laws
A childcare centre in Sydney’s south-east has been targeted with antisemitic graffiti and set alight overnight. More detectives will be assigned to track down the perpetrators of a spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney after a childcare centre was set alight and targeted with graffiti overnight.
Just before 1am on Tuesday, emergency services were called to the centre in Maroubra where firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the building sustained extensive damage, NSW police said in a statement. Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that national cabinet would meet later in the day to discuss antisemitism across Australia. The prime minister had earlier visited the childcare centre in Maroubra.
Antisemitic graffiti was found spray-painted on an external wall. The building was unoccupied at the time and there were no reports of injuries, police said. The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, denied he had “lost control of the crisis”, while state police confirmed arrests had been made over separate vandalism incidents.
“It is completely disgusting and these bastards will be rounded up by NSW police,” Minns told reporters on Tuesday.
The acting NSW police commissioner, Peter Thurtell, said copycat offenders could be partly to blame for the spate of attacks but police were also investigating if some were linked.
Just before 1am on Tuesday, emergency services were called to the Only About Children centre on Storey Street in Maroubra where firefighters extinguished a blaze.
The building was unoccupied at the time and there were no reports of injuries.
The words “Fuck the Jews” was spray-painted on an external wall of the centre which does not have religious affiliations but is close to both the Maroubra Synagogue and Mount Sanai college.
Nick Klein, an accountant who lives two streets from the synagogue, was due to celebrate his son’s barmitzvah there on Saturday.
“It’s very close to home. To smell the fire here, it’s shocking. The fact that it’s a childcare centre - how low can you go?” he said.
“I just think it’s disgusting, it’s a disgrace. These people are deliberately targeting the Jewish community. It’s a crime. It’s clearly a racist crime.”
Separately, the Dover Heights home once owned by Alex Ryvchin – the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry – was splashed with red paint on Friday morning.
Four cars were damaged, with two set alight. One car was graffitied with the words “Fuck Jews”.
Ryvchin said on Tuesday that to firebomb a childcare centre “requires a depth of savagery that is difficult to imagine”.
“Today, families will be having conversations about whether it’s safe to send their children to the places where they should be safest. Places of worship, homes and now preschools have all been targeted,” he said on X.
“Antisemitism consumes everything. It is the disease that is destroying our country.”
Counter-terrorism police were called in to investigate after a Sydney synagogue was spray-painted with red swastikas earlier this month. There have also been previous attacks on synagogues and suburban streets in Sydney.
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The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was “very alarmed and concerned” about the incident and a wave of similar recent attacks in Sydney.
“This is not just malicious damage or random graffiti, as appalling as that would be if it was racially motivated,” he said on Sydney radio station 2GB.
“These are sophisticated attacks. Police are putting resources into it as we speak. They will track down these people.”
The premier said such attacks “begin with the incendiary language that’s heard in different parts of Sydney” and again foreshadowed new legislation to “criminalise the vilification and hatred of members of our community”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, condemned what he called an “evil hate crime”.
“My government will support NSW police to hunt down the offenders and ensure they face the full force of the law through oOperation Avalite,” Albanese said on Tuesday.
The federal Coalition on Monday promised tougher penalties and mandatory minimum jail sentences for antisemitic attacks if elected.
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The co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, again called for national cabinet to meet to deal with the increase in antisemitic attacks – which he labelled a “national emergency”. Albanese said on Tuesday: “This is something that people in this great multicultural city of Sydney should never wake up to. This is a place for children and families and it should never have been denigrated by this despicable and horrifying crime.”
Ryvchin’s former home in Sydney was vandalised last week. He told reporters after that attack it would be “one hell of a coincidence” if he was not the target. Albanese labelled the attack an “evil hate crime”.
The NSW minister for multiculturalism, Steve Kamper, said that to target a childcare centre less than 200m from a synagogue was unconscionable and heartbreaking. “My government will support NSW police to hunt down the offenders and ensure they face the full force of the law,” the prime minister said.
“This despicable act has no place in our society. Antisemitism must be unequivocally condemned,” he said. Minns was on Tuesday asked if authorities would consider declaring some of the incidents “terror” attacks.
“The cowardly thugs who perpetrated these acts deserve to be met with the full force of the law, they are a blight on our multicultural society. We will be meeting with the NSW Faith Affairs Council prior to the next parliament sitting to review stronger legislation.” “Police will not hesitate to make that designation if they believe it’s appropriate to conduct an investigation,” he said.
Counter-terrorism police were called in to investigate after a Sydney synagogue was spray-painted with red swastikas earlier this month. There have been previous attacks on synagogues and suburban streets in Sydney. “But right now, we’ve got strong laws in NSW. We’ve got a major police presence. We are putting more resources in.”
A 34-year-old woman was arrested on Monday in relation to an alleged antisemitic attack on Magney Street in Woollahra in mid-December. Thurtell said Strike Force Pearl – set up to combat antisemitic vandalism – and Operation Shelter – established after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks – would have their resources increased.
“Since October 2023 we’ve arrested over 180 people under 0peration Shelter … 40 of those people are for specific antisemitic offences. Eight of those people have been arrested by Strike Force Pearl in relation to the arson attacks,” the acting police commissioner said.
Minns on Tuesday again foreshadowed new legislation to crack down on hate speech, saying that could involve changes to the Sentencing Act and section 93Z of the Crimes Act. The latter covers the offence of publicly threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The federal Coalition on Monday promised tougher penalties and mandatory minimum jail sentences for antisemitic attacks if elected.
- Additional reporting by Emily Wind and Josh Butler