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.
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