Australian state commits more police to investigate antisemitic crime

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian state committed more police to investigate a spate of antisemitic crimes, officials said on Tuesday after a childcare center was torched near a Sydney synagogue.

The childcare center a block from a synagogue in a suburb of Maroubra was also spray-painted with anti-Jewish graffiti before it was set alight early Tuesday, police said. The building was extensively damaged, but police said no one was hurt.

The arson is the latest in a spate of targeted attacks in Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023. Sydney and Melbourne are home to 85% of Australia’s Jewish population.

The fires and other attacks have targeted buildings and cars, and one person suffered burn injuries in the fire that was set at a Melbourne synagogue in December.

Acting New South Police Wales Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said Strike Force Pearl, which was formed several months ago to investigate antisemitic crimes in Sydney, “will have its resources increased as of today.”

“We already have significant resources, but incidents like this highlight the fact that we need to keep putting the resources in to ensure that these offenders are identified and arrested and put before the court,” Thurtell told reporters.

“These are criminals who are out to destroy our society and we, as the New South Wales Police Force, will do whatever we have to ensure that these people are arrested,” he added.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said state and federal resources were being directed at solving antisemitic crime.

“The rise in antisemitic attacks in New South Wales is a major concern for the state — the primary concern for New South Wales,” Minns told reporters.

“I can’t promise the end of this kind of violence. We are seeing a wave of antisemitic attacks in our community. It’s deeply distressing,” Minns added.

But Minns said perpetrators were being brought to justice. Nine suspects had been arrested and charged over three recent antisemitic attacks in Sydney. All suspects remained in custody.

One of those suspects, Tammie Farrugia, 34, was arrested at her Sydney home on Monday and appeared in court on Tuesday on a range of charges related to an attack on Dec. 11 in the suburb of Woollahra which is a center of Jewish life.

Walls of homes and cars were graffitied with apparently misspelled messages, including: “Kill Israiel” and “Death 2 Israiel.” One of the cars was torched.

The charges included participating in a criminal group with at least two other accomplices whom police have yet to arrest.

Farrugia did not enter pleas to the charges or apply to be released from custody on bail. She will return to court on Feb. 5.

New South Wales Police established Operation Shelter to improve community safety after the Israel-Hamas war triggered pro-Palestinian protests in Sydney.

Thurtell said more than 180 people had been arrested in Operation Shelter. Of those, 40 had been charged with specific antisemitic offenses, he said.

Almost 117,000 Jewish people live in Australia, according to the last census in 2021, or 0.46% of the 25.4 million residents. The government says only Israel is home to more Holocaust survivors than Australia on a per capita basis.