Wave of hate: Newtown synagogue and home hit in anti-Semitic graffiti attacks

More anti-Semitic attacks have hit Sydney overnight, with a synagogue in the inner west and a home in the city’s east the latest properties targeted with sickening graffiti.

Police were alerted to graffiti spray painted on a house on Henry Street, Queens Park about 6.30am on Saturday.

And about 7.30am, officers attached to Inner West Police Area Command were notified of graffiti spray painted on a synagogue on Georgina Street, Newtown.

A separate incident, where offensive comments written on a poster on Marrickville Road, Marrickville is also being investigated.

They are just the latest in a wave of anti-Semitic hate crimes to hit Sydney.

The Allaway Synagogue in the city’s south was daubed with at least a dozen swastikas in the early hours before being discovered on Friday morning.

After details of that attack emerged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns said those responsible for the latest anti-Semitic incident would face the full force of the law.

Mr Minns denounced the vandalism as a “horrifying, hate-filled attack by individuals who have hate in their heart and are determined to divide our communities”.

“The painting of a Swastika on a Jewish building shows how appalling these individuals are … it’s disgusting and disgraceful,” he said.

“It’s around the corner from my house, I know the people I represent and the community I live in completely repudiate that kind of horrifying vandalism, that horrifying violence in our community.

“Having spoken to the president and the vice-president from the synagogue, I know they’re appalled but they don’t believe this is representative of the communities’ acceptance and closeness to the Jewish community in southern Sydney.”

Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said the latest attacks were a “sickening escalation that reveals the cancer of anti-Semitism growing bolder in our midst”.

“These aren’t random acts of vandalism,” he said. ”This is terrorism against our Jewish community, a calculated campaign to spread fear and horror.

“To our Holocaust survivors who fled to Australia seeking sanctuary, these savage attacks must feel like their worst nightmares reborn. The very symbols of genocide that murdered their families now pollute their sacred spaces of worship.

“This is psychological warfare, designed to tell Jewish Australians they are not safe even in their own sanctuaries.

“Two attacks. Two synagogues. The message is clear - antisemitism isn’t lurking in shadows anymore. It’s strutting in broad daylight, leaving its vile marks on our houses of prayer, daring us to respond. This isn’t just an attack on Judaism - it’s an assault on everything Australia claims to stand for.”

Dr Abramovich said the ongoing anti-Semitic attacks amounted to a crisis that demanded immediate action.

In a statement NSW Police said it takes hate crimes seriously and encouraged anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or through triple-0.

“It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone.”