Australia’s Prime Minister condemns arson and anti-Israel graffiti

Australian police have launched an investigation after a car was set on fire and houses vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney.

The incident has been condemned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “hate crime”. He told ABC News: “There is no place for anti-Semitism in this country, no place for it.”

It comes days after a fire engulfed a synagogue in Melbourne, leaving one man with minor injuries, in what police are treating as a possible terror attack.

Sydney authorities said they were looking for two people aged between 15 and 20 over the vandalism incident.

The pair were wearing “masks and dark clothing” and were seen running from the scene, NSW police said.

“We need the public’s help to come forward and help identify these two individuals,” Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters.

Police said the car fire was extinguished shortly after firefighters were called to the scene in Woollahra, a suburb in Sydney’s east, around 01:00 local time (1400 GMT) .

Anti-Israel messages, including “Kill Israel” (sic), were found scrawled on the fence of two properties and cars at the scene.

Albanese said he had spoken to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) about the vandalism.

Earlier this week, the police force set up a special task force to investigate incidents of anti-Semitism, including the alleged terror attack in Melbourne, and another act of vandalism that occurred in Woollahra last month. Police do not believe the two incidents in Woollahra are linked.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the latest incident appeared to have been “specifically designed” to “intimidate Sydney’s Jewish community”.

“If the question is: Can we do more? I think the answer is yes, and I’m not closing the door on changes to the law,” he told reporters, adding that he had spoken to Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon.

NSW Board of Jewish Deputies president David Ossip said his community was “deeply saddened” by what had happened but would “not be intimidated”.