Suspects connected to the vandalism and attempted arson attack of a synagogue in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 11, 2025. Photo: New South Wales Police

Counterterrorism police have taken over an investigation into swastika vandalism and attempted arson targeting a synagogue in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday morning, said New South Wales (NSW) Acting Premier Penny Sharpe.

The acting premier told Australia’s ABC radio on Monday that she is confident counterterrorism police will find the perpetrators behind the vandalism and arson attempt.

“They bring all of the intelligence that we have about activity that is out there,” she said. “They are able to coordinate at the local level, at the broader level, they’re able to work very closely and do things like release CCTV.”

NSW Police released CCTV images of two individuals connected to the swastika graffiti that was spray-painted on a synagogue in Sydney’s Inner West, during which police believe an arson attempt was also made. Police said early Saturday morning, two people approached the synagogue on Georgina Street in Newtown, spray-painted the antisemitic Nazi symbol on the fence and building, and also attempted to light the synagogue on fire. The pair left the scene of the crime shortly afterward. NSW Police have also provided descriptions of what the suspects were wearing during the incident.

“New South Wales should be a safe place for every person and any attack on any group is completely unacceptable,” Sharpe told Sky News Australia. “The rise of antisemitism is something everyone should be concerned about, not just the Jewish community. We’re pleased and watching closely the work that the counterterrorism and police are doing in relation to all the investigations. We’re examining laws and when Parliament returns in February, we’ll be putting in place protections so people can go to their church or their temple or synagogue without fear of harassment or threatening behavior.”

“This is a very serious matter” Sharpe added. “It’s hateful, it’s illegal, and for the community that we live in, we have to send a very strong message that it won’t go unanswered.”

Sharpe also spoke of a “community responsibility” and urged residents of NSW to come forward to police with any information regarding the vandalism and attempted arson, including knowledge about the suspects. When asked if she would support legislation that calls for mandatory prison sentences for individuals who target Jewish synagogues, she said, “we are open to all ideas … we are always open to a conversation on a national level about these issues.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said over the weekend that the spray-painting of a swastika on the synagogue was “very concerning, not just for the Jewish community but for the wider community.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia’s “tolerant multicultural community” was “no place for this sort of criminal activity.”

The latest investigation came weeks after the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) published a report showing that antisemitism across the country quadrupled to record levels between 2023-2024, with Australian Jews experiencing more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024.

Anti-Jewish hate crimes surged across Australia following the Palestinian terror group Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, amid the ensuing war in Gaza. Such incidents included a terrorist arson attack on a synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea.

Just last week, several swastikas were spray-painted on the Allawah synagogue in southern Sydney, as well as the antisemitic message “Hitler on top Allah” and the phrase “Free Palestine.” The vandalism last week took place mere days after a car was spray-painted with the message “F—k the Jews” in Sydney’s south-east suburb Queens Park.

In May 2024, the words “Jew die” were spray-painted on the entrance of Mount Scopus Memorial College, Melbourne’s largest Jewish school. In December 2024, a car was set on fire in the eastern Sydney suburb of Woollahra that is home to Australia’s largest Jewish community, and the words “Kill Israiel [sic]” were graffitied on a wall nearby.

“Kill Jews … Jew [sic] lives here” was painted on a wall that contained mailboxes in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton in November 2023, and graffiti was also spray-painted a wall in the inner west suburb of Sydneham that read “gas the Jews.”