Early Learning Centre Set On Fire And Vandalised With Antisemitic Graffiti

According to officials, the latest in a string of attacks in Australia targeting Jews occurred Tuesday, January 21, early in the morning when a early learning centre in Sydney was set on fire and antisemitic graffiti was scrawled on the wall.

The incident, which occurred in Sydney's east at around 1 a.m. (1400 GMT, Monday), is the city's second in four days, and police say they had opened an inquiry.

According to authorities, the daycare center, which is close to a Jewish school, sustained significant damage, but no casualties were reported. "I want to make it plain that this is horrible," stated Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales. Police in New South Wales are currently investigating the perpetrator of this heinous hate crime in great detail, but I believe we already know enough about the type of people involved—the kind of people who would set a childcare facility on fire on the day that kids are supposed to be going back to school—to know who they are."

"The kind of individuals who, because it is adjacent to a synagogue, would set it on fire." People who would engage in such behavior as attacking a stranger because of their race or religion are abhorrent, and the police in New South Wales will apprehend these jerks."

Since Israel launched a war on Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which has killed tens of thousands of people, antisemitic and Islamophobic acts have increased throughout Australia. 

In Sydney alone, at least six incidences have been reported in the past two months.

Reference:
Sydney hit by second hate crime in four days: Childcare centre set on fire, sprayed with antisemitic graffiti, MSN Australia