NSW Police charge 33yo man over attempted synagogue fire bombing

ABC NEWS (Australia)

An Australian Federal Police task force is chasing so called criminals for hire as it investigates a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. The AFP commissioner says there is intelligence of overseas payments but so far no links between various incidents can be found.

Transcript

00:00Federal police are investigating whether overseas actors paid criminals in Australia to carry

00:08out some of these anti-Semitic incidents, but at this stage there have been no links

00:13found to overseas terrorist organisations or foreign governments, nor have any links

00:19been found between these incidents.

00:21There have been at least eight serious ones in Sydney and Melbourne over the past three

00:26months.

00:27ABC News understands there's been some frustration within intelligence circles and at the state

00:33police level when it comes to the AFP's decision to reveal possible overseas funding links.

00:40However, AFP Commissioner Rhys Kershaw says at the moment they're looking at all possible

00:44avenues for motivations.

00:47The AFP's investigative lines of inquiry are looking at whether some individuals have been

00:52paid to carry out some anti-Semitic acts in Australia.

00:58We believe criminals for hire may be behind some incidents.

01:04So part of our inquiries include who is paying those criminals, where those people are, whether

01:11they are in Australia or offshore, and what their motivation is.

01:17As we know a snap national cabinet meeting was held yesterday evening that was in response

01:22to an anti-Semitic attack on a childcare in Maroobra in Sydney's east.

01:28The government, they've been under sustained political pressure both from the coalition

01:32and also the Israeli government over their response.

01:36They've argued essentially that the Prime Minister hasn't done enough to clamp down

01:40on anti-Semitism.

01:42We have heard from the opposition leader Peter Dutton this morning and he's calling for more

01:46information.

01:48When did the Prime Minister find out that there were foreign players?

01:51Are these state actors or are they organised crime groups or are they anti-Semitic groups?

01:59What did the Prime Minister know?

02:00And frankly it just gives, shines a spotlight on the fact that the Commonwealth government

02:06should have deployed resources much earlier to what is a rolling series of terrorist incidents

02:11in our country.

02:12So what's been the reaction from the community, Liv?

02:16Well we've heard from a coalition of groups this morning calling for social cohesion.

02:21So in a joint statement from the Human Rights Watch, the Jewish Council of Australia as

02:26well as the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, they essentially don't want these

02:31events to be politicised.

02:32And I'll read you from that statement now, they've said political leaders should condemn

02:37recent hate crimes and acts of discrimination, however they should not seek to politicise

02:41racist attacks for political gain, nor should political leaders cause further community

02:46division or vilification in their response to these attacks.

02:51The government would argue that they've taken several measures to try and clamp down on

02:55this rise in anti-Semitism that we're seeing across Australia.

02:59And should Parliament return early next month, they do want to introduce new legislation

03:04to crack down on hate speech.

03:07That is of course if an election isn't called before then.

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