The Prime Minister has called a national cabinet meeting in response to a series of anti-Semitic attacks. In the latest incident, a childcare centre in Sydney's southeast was set alight and spray painted with anti-Semitic graffiti in the early hours of this morning.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Well, police were called to this childcare centre in Mooroobara around 1am this morning
00:06to reports of it being set on fire and also graffiti.
00:10Now, police are investigating, but local residents say this incident has really rocked them.
00:16There's been a number of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney in recent weeks and months, and
00:21despite an increase in a police presence here, local residents say it was just a matter of
00:26time before Mooroobara was targeted next.
00:30Now this childcare centre is not affiliated with a Jewish community, in fact it's a multi-faith
00:34centre.
00:35Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and also New South Wales Premier Chris Minns attended the
00:40site this morning to speak with the childcare centre's CEO.
00:43They've both condemned the attack and called for greater action.
00:47Here's what Premier Chris Minns had to say earlier.
00:50We are seeing a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in our community.
00:53It's deeply distressing.
00:54As I said earlier, it breaks your heart that we have animals in our city that are prepared
00:59to burn down a childcare centre to make this point.
01:02But what I can promise is that the resources of the New South Wales Police and the Government
01:07and the Commonwealth Government are directed at this today and tomorrow and as long as
01:12it takes to catch the people who are responsible for it.
01:15Now Jewish community leaders I've spoken to say that they believe that this was a case
01:19of mistaken identity.
01:21This centre is a multi-faith centre and not affiliated with a Jewish community but right
01:26behind it is a synagogue and behind that synagogue is a Jewish primary school that has a childcare
01:32centre attached to it.
01:34Leaders I've spoken to believe that the attack is intended to target that childcare centre
01:39or school but due to increased security presence instead targeted this incident here.
01:45Now there has been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across Sydney in recent weeks and
01:50the level of violence used in the attacks seems to also be increasing.
01:55Leaders are calling for greater action by the Premier and Prime Minister including strengthening
02:01hate crime laws.
02:02Here's what one leader had to say earlier.
02:04I have absolutely no doubt that this was a case of mistaken identity but I think it's
02:09a wake up call to the Australian community at large because unfortunately anti-Semitism
02:14is a disease and it spreads and it doesn't just hit Jewish institutions and Jewish people.
02:21It hits everyone, it hits our society and that's what we're seeing right now.
02:24The Australian Federal Police established a special task force late last year investigating
02:30the rise in anti-Semitic attacks.
02:32They made their first arrest about a week ago.
02:35A 44-year-old man from Western Sydney who's been accused of making death threats towards
02:39a Jewish community leader.
02:42Local residents I've spoken to say that without greater preventative action these types of
02:47incidents are only going to happen again.