Australian Police Crack Down on Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes

sydney, australia - Australian police vow to take strong action against recent anti-Jewish hate crimes in Sydney.

Police Response to Hate Crimes

Australian police have pledged to crack down on antisemitic hate crimes following the burning of vehicles and vandalism in a wealthy suburb of Sydney. Two cars were set on fire and other vehicles were defaced with anti-Jewish slogans near the former home of a Jewish community leader. The act of vandalizing a house with red paint was also classified as a hate crime, as the house belonged to a prominent Jewish-Australian lawyer.

'We will track you down, we will find you and we will lock you up,' said Yasmin Catley, Minister for Police of New South Wales. 'What we are witnessing in our streets is completely un-Australian.'

Last week, vandals defaced two synagogues in Sydney with Nazi symbols. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described it as 'a form of hatred and intolerance that has no place in Australia. I unequivocally condemn the crimes.'

Masked arsonists set fire to a synagogue in Melbourne last December, prompting the government to establish a federal task force to combat antisemitism.