Police are investigating a vandalism attack in Sydney’s eastern suburbs which the Prime Minister describes as an act of antisemitism. At least one car has been destroyed and nine other cars and three buildings have been spray-painted with offensive slogans.
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00:00Residents in Wallara, in the heart of Sydney's eastern suburbs, say they are shocked to discover
00:07their area has been at the centre of anti-Israel vandalism.
00:12Overnight a ute was set alight and about a dozen cars and a unit complex were spray-painted
00:19with anti-Israel messages.
00:21Nearby Chiswick restaurant, which is owned by celebrity chef Matt Moran, was also vandalised.
00:27Fire and rescue NSW were initially called just after midnight to Wellington Street where
00:33they extinguished the burning ute.
00:35Wallara is home to a big Jewish community.
00:39There is a synagogue here as well as a Jewish hospital.
00:42Police have described the graffiti as being of a political nature.
00:46It is brazen, it is offensive, the behaviour of the people who did it is disgusting behaviour
00:53that's against community standards.
00:56These are people's houses that they live in, these are people's cars.
00:59One of the vehicles that got spray-painted, that got set fire to, we towed that vehicle
01:02this morning.
01:03It's completely destroyed.
01:04So again, the behaviour is completely unacceptable.
01:09This morning a big clean-up operation was underway to clean up the graffiti and many
01:14of the cars were towed away.
01:16Police estimate the damage bill to be around $100,000.
01:21Politicians from across the political divide have spoken out today condemning this incident.
01:27The Jewish community, this is an area that's very close to numerous Jewish communal facilities.
01:32Obviously because of the nature of the graffiti we feel that we've been targeted as well.
01:36And when you look at events abroad, whether in Amsterdam or just the escalating nature
01:41of the anti-Israel movement in this country, there's an anxiety and a fear.
01:45Investigations are still underway to find out who exactly was behind this vandalism
01:50and what exactly was their motive.
01:52Police are urging anyone with any information about this incident to come forward.