A vehicle has been set on fire and 10 cars have been vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, sparking outrage and condemnation from politicians including the prime minister.
New South Wales police said they had discovered the graffiti on the cars and the door of an apartment complex in Woollahra after they were alerted to the blaze about 12.30am on Thursday.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and there were no reports of injuries. Police established a crime scene and are investigating.
Anthony Albanese condemned what he called “last night’s act of antisemitism” upon returning to Australia on Thursday morning from the Apec and G20 summits.
“These are disturbing scenes and deeply troubling to all Australians,” he said. “There is no place for antisemitism in Australia.”
The cars were spray painted with “fuck Israel” and “PKK coming”.
They were parked around the corner from Sydney’s Turkish consulate. The Kurdistan Workers’ party, abbreviated to PKK, has been fighting for autonomy in south-east Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the country’s western allies.
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said the incidents appeared to be “a shocking act of political violence” that “must be met with the full force of the law”.
The local federal MP, Allegra Spender, said she was “deeply concerned” by the reports of “appalling antisemitic graffiti” and “completely unacceptable damage”.
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The Greens senator David Shoebridge also condemned the incident as “frightening and unacceptable”.
Police urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
– additional reporting by Emily Wind and Josh Butler
