A childcare centre in Sydney’s south-east was targeted with antisemitic graffiti and set alight early on Tuesday morning.
Just before 1am 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 spraypainted 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 foreshadowed new legislation to “criminalise the vilification and hatred of members of our community”.
Anthony Albanese also 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 Operation Avalite,” the prime minister said.
It comes a day after the Dutton Coalition opposition promised tougher penalties and mandatory minimum jail sentences for antisemitic attacks.
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. Anti-semitism 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.”
more to come
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