Two synagogues in Sydney have been vandalised with Nazi symbols in two days.
The Newtown Synagogue in Sydney’s inner-west was the latest site targeted, with red hakenkreuz symbols — the swastika appropriated by the Nazi party — spray-painted across its front wall.
Police are investigating the incident and attended the scene on Saturday morning.
The vandalism came hours after similar graffiti was spray-painted on a house in Sydney’s east.
On Friday morning, the hakenkreuz symbol was also scrawled across the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah. Police are investigating the offensive graffiti.
The place of worship is in the Kogarah electorate of NSW Premier Chris Minns, who described the attack as hate-filled, horrific, and designed to divide the community.
“It’s disgusting and disgraceful,” Minns told reporters on Friday.
“There are, unfortunately, some bastards out there that are determined to rip into our community, and they should be ashamed of the actions that they’ve taken this morning.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns has condemned antisemitic attacks in Sydney. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
‘They’re hateful and have no place in Australia’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said those involved antisemitic vandalism should face the “full force” of the law, and such crimes should be “called out for what they are”.
“They are hateful and [have] no place in Australia,” he said.
“Australians should respect each other and overwhelmingly do, regardless of their faith. We are a multicultural nation, we need to be inclusive and cohesive and that’s what my government is determined to support.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the community expects “swift arrests” to be made for those involved in the Allawah attack.
“As long as these people evade justice for trying to terrorise Australian citizens, it will continue,” he wrote on X.
“We’re also calling on our fellow Australians, particularly those in positions of influence across society, to end the silence and publicly denounce this behaviour as repugnant to our national values and a threat to us all.”
The vandalism of the two synagogues follows a number of anti-Israel and antisemitic attacks across Sydney in recent weeks.
On Monday, a car was vandalised with the words ‘F—K THE JEWS’ in Queens Park, in Sydney’s inner-east, where some members of the city’s Jewish community live.
David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, said: “No Australian should have to wake up every morning filled with apprehension about whether or not there’s been another anti-Semitic hate crime overnight.”
In early December, , while the words, a western Sydney suburb.
