Authorities in Australia’s New South Wales said Wednesday that an arrest has been made in Jan. 11’s attempted arson attack on a Newtown synagogue. Photo courtesy of New South Wales Police Force
Jan. 22 (UPI) — Authorities in Australia on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 33-year-old man accused of vandalizing and attempting to set fire to a Sydney synagogue earlier this month.
The arrest comes as police in the southeastern state of New South Wales crack down on anti-Semitic crimes amid a slew of attacks and vandalism targeting Australia’s Jewish community.
“We will leave no stone unturned in combating rampant anti-Semitism and violence in our community,” NSW Premier Chris Minns told reporters during a press conference. “It will never be tolerated.”
The unnamed suspect was arrested overnight Tuesday by detectives with Strike Force Pearl, a police task force launched to crack down on rising anti-Semitic crimes in the state.
The arrest occurred as the detectives were executing search warrants at two addresses on Pyrmont Bridge Road, in Camperdown in neighboring Victoria state, the NSW Police Force said in a statement.
The man was initially taken to the hospital under police guard before being transported to Surry Hills Police Station, where he was charged with several offenses in connection to the Jan. 11 attempted arson attack targeting a synagogue in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Newtown.
Police said two people were seen spray-painting graffiti on the fence and building of the synagogue and are believed to have attempted to light it on fire.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters during the press conference that they expect to make a second arrest in the case “shortly.”
Strike Force Pearl has now arrested nine people in connection to four crimes targeting the state’s Jewish community.
However, the state has been plagued by a string of such attacks that go back to at least October, with the most recent incident occurring Friday, when a number of vehicles and the home of a former Jewish community leader were damaged.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Friday incident “another anti-Semitic attack that is against everything that we stand for.”
“There’s more to do, but if you have committed or you are thinking about committing one of these offense, expect a knock on your door,” Yasmin Catley, minister of police and counter terrorism in NSW, said in the press conference.
“It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but let me tell you, it will come.”
The crimes come as the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Australia soared amid Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people.
According to a report published late last year by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, there were more than 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents tallied during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, marking an increase of 316% compared to the same period a year prior.
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