Counter Terrorism Command takes over investigation into antisemitic incidents across Sydney

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A warning: This story contains images of Nazi symbols. Counter Terrorism Command has now taken over the investigation into the antisemitic incidents across Sydney. Reporter Digby Werthmuller has the details.

Transcript

00:00Well the New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb and the State Premier Chris Minns

00:07briefed media a short while ago on the latest to do with the investigations with regards

00:12to anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney and the latest piece of information was that the

00:18counter-terrorism squad would be handling investigations going forward.

00:22But another piece of information that also came to light was that an accelerant was used

00:27during an attack at a synagogue in Sydney's Newtown yesterday morning.

00:31That fire, which is now being treated as an arson attack, only lasted three minutes before

00:37it put itself out and Karen Webb has labelled that incident as an obvious hate crime.

00:44Police are also not 100% sure on whether the pair who were involved in that attack yesterday

00:51morning were female or male.

00:54In Newtown yesterday morning police discovered what was some very obvious hate crime on the

01:04synagogue.

01:05This is a criminal act and that's the important message here.

01:10This is a crime and it deserves the full extent of the law.

01:16This is an escalation in anti-Semitic crime in New South Wales.

01:20Police and the government remain very concerned that an accelerant may have been used in Newtown

01:25on Saturday morning.

01:26This would lead everyone to believe that this escalation is very concerning, not just for

01:31the Jewish community but for the wider community.

01:35Yesterday's incident follows a number of anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney's east in recent weeks.

01:41The President of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies has labelled these attacks

01:46as sickening.

01:47The Premier of New South Wales, Chris Mins, has extended a $340,000 grant to the Jewish

01:55Board of Deputies to help them bolster up security across various venues in Sydney and

02:02New South Wales.

02:04It's also very clear from the messaging this morning from the Premier and the Police Commissioner

02:10that they're really going to have to rely on the public to provide them with information

02:15to help identify those people they're wanting to talk to with regards to yesterday's incident

02:21and as well as an incident in Alawa on Thursday where police released the image of the face

02:29of a man who was involved in that attack there.

02:32So public reliance is very heavily what police are relying on.

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