A childcare centre in Sydney’s south-east has been targeted with antisemitic graffiti and set alight 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.
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 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”.
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.
The NSW minister for multiculturalism, Steve Kamper, said that to target a childcare centre less than 200m from a synagogue was unconscionable and heartbreaking.
“This despicable act has no place in our society. Antisemitism must be unequivocally condemned,” he said.
“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.”
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.
A 34-year-old woman was arrested on Monday in relation to an alleged antisemitic attack on Magney Street in Woollahra in mid-December.
