Counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation of a swastika vandalism attack at a Sydney synagogue as the police commissioner and state government call on the public to help catch the perpetrators.
The acting New South Wales premier, Penny Sharpe, said she was confident counter-terrorism police had the resources and skills to find the latest attack’s perpetrators.
“They bring all of the intelligence that we have about activity that is out there,” she told ABC radio on Monday.
“They are able to co-ordinate at the local level, at the broader level, they’re able to work very closely and do things like release CCTV.”
Jewish leaders condemned the latest attack, in which red swastikas were spray-painted across the front wall of Newtown synagogue in Sydney’s inner west by a male and female about 4.30am on Saturday.
They also ignited a clear liquid that burned out within minutes but the fire could have had deadly consequences if it had taken hold, the New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, said on Sunday.
The “hateful criminals” were not just attempting to deface a place of worship but were seeking to destroy it, said the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president, David Ossip.
“This was a failed act of terrorism which risked the safety and property of residents peacefully sleeping in their homes near the synagogue,” he said.
The investigation had been taken over by the counter-terrorism command’s hate crime unit, Webb said.
“I appeal to anyone out there who knows who has perpetrated these disgusting offences to come forward and tell police who they are,” she said.
“There are other local investigations where there are graffiti on ride share bikes and skate parks and other things will continue to be dealt with locally, unless there’s a suggestion that they are linked.”
Anthony Albanese defended his government’s action to curb antisemitism following the incidents in Sydney and the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue in December.
“I’ve campaigned against racism and anti-Semitism my whole life,” he said.
“We have introduced significant legislation, the first ban on the Nazi salute and hate symbols.”
The federal opposition has criticised Labor’s response, claiming the government has failed to strengthen anti-hate laws and been too slow in getting the Australian federal police to set up an antisemitism task force.
There has been a series of antisemitic attacks in Australia.
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In December the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne was set on fire in an attack condemned by the prime minister, Albanese, and other leaders.
Hours before the Newtown attack, similar graffiti was spray-painted on a home in Queens Park in the city’s east, and cars and a trailer were vandalised.
On Friday the Southern Sydney synagogue in Allawah was vandalised with swastikas, while police are also investigating offensive comments written on a poster in Marrickville.
Police have released an image of a man wanted for questioning about the Allawah attack.
The Inner West mayor, Darcy Byrne, also condemned the “appalling and cowardly” vandalism, and said “these ongoing gutless attacks are against everything our multicultural and multi-faith inner west community stands for”.
Investigators have released images of two people clad in black clothing they want to speak to about the attack in Newtown.
One was riding a mountain bike and the other had a motorised scooter.
The rise of hate speech and intimidation in Australia has been linked to the conflict in Gaza.
The race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, in December said antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism against Arabs and Palestinians had dramatically increased.
