Man Arrested for Allegedly Attempting to Set Synagogue on Fire in Sydney

New South Wales (NSW) Police have charged a man for allegedly attempting to set the Newtown synagogue on fire in early January.

The man is the ninth person charged under Strike Force Pearl, a police operation established in December to investigate hate crimes with an anti-Semitic focus in Sydney.

“Detectives attached to Strike Force Pearl arrested a 33-year-old man when search warrants were executed overnight  at two addresses on Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown,” NSW police said.

Initially, the man was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital under police guard before he was transferred to Surry Hills Police Station.

“He was charged with destroy property in company use fire, destroy/damage property in company, goods in personal custody suspected being stolen, and cultivate prohibited plant” police said.

Officers also seized multiple items during the search for further examination.

The arrest come amid political pressure following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, including synagogue fires, offensive graffiti, and torching of cars.

Strike Force Pearl involves officers from the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, supported by police from the Central Metropolitan Region in NSW.

The operation has charged four men aged 31, 27, 40, and 26 in relation to fires at two Bondi businesses in October 2024.

A further three men aged aged 20, 19, and 21 have been arrested after multiple vehicles and buildings were allegedly deliberately damaged in Woollahra in November 2024.

A woman aged 34 was also charged after vehicles and buildings were allegedly deliberately damaged in Woollahra in December 2024.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has also received 166 reports of crime under Special Operation Avalite, which is targeting “high-harm anti-Semitism.”

Out of the reports, 15 serious allegations are being investigated. Some are already under investigation by state police, while others are duplicates or don’t meet the threshold of a crime.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has reiterated his call for stronger hate speech laws amid the rising anti-semitic attacks in the state.

“I think that we should have the toughest laws or at least, equal toughest laws on the books because we can’t tolerate it,” he told reporters.

Possible Link to Foreign Actors

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as shed more light on the anti-Semitic attacks in Australia, suggesting they were paid by foreign actors.

Albanese said it was important for people to understand where some of these attacks were coming from, suggesting a foreign link.

“It would appear, as the AFP commissioner said yesterday, that some of these are being perpetrated by people who don’t have a particular issue, aren’t motivated by an ideology, but are paid actors,” he told reporters.

This comes after the AFP revealed on Jan. 21 they were looking into whether overseas actors or individuals had paid local criminals in Australia to carry out some of these crimes.

“We are looking at if—or how—they have been paid, for example in cryptocurrency, which can take longer to identify,” the AFP said.

“We are looking into whether any young people are involved in carrying out some of these crimes, and if they have been radicalised online and encouraged to commit anti-Semitic acts.”

The AFP said regardless, it all pointed to the same motivation, that is, “demonising and intimidating” the Jewish community.

“Intelligence is not the same as evidence. We are building evidence, and I want to reiterate, more charges are expected soon by the AFP,” the AFP said.

However, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for more information from the prime minister about the possible foreign interference.

“Why has the prime minister never mentioned this before now? When did the prime minister find out that there were foreign players? Are these state actors or organised crime groups? Or are they anti-Semitic groups? What did the prime minister know,” he said during a press conference in Goulburn.

Prime Minister Convenes National Cabinet

A meeting of national cabinet was held on Jan. 21 following the alleged arson and vandalism of a childcare centre in Maroubra.

During discussions, Albanese and state leaders agreed they would ramp up data collection of anti-Semitic incidents.

Dutton has been calling for a national cabinet meeting for several months.

He pledged a range of measures to tackle anti-Semitism on Jan. 20, including making it a hate crime to threaten or urge violence towards a place of worship, with a punishment of five to seven years in prison.

The opposition leader also promised to introduce mandatory minimum sentences of 12 months for the public display of Nazi symbols, terrorist organisation symbols, and displaying the Nazi salute in public.

“The shocking rise in anti-Semitism in our country is a national crisis which requires a national response. I first requested the PM convene a National Cabinet on anti-Semitism in November 2023,” Dutton said on Jan. 20.

“If the PM won’t show the strong leadership our country needs, then we will.”