NSW Police have released CCTV images showing people they believe can help with their inquiries at Newtown and Allawah.
Minns said someone must recognise their faces and stressed there was “absolutely no place for racism, bigotry or antisemitism in NSW”.
Police have released vision of two people wanted over graffiti sprayed on the walls of the Southern Sydney Synagogue at Allawah.Credit: NSW Police
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the probes into the antisemitic attacks in this state had been taken over by the counter-terrorism command under Strike Force Pearl in the past 24 hours. The state crime command and local police officers would also continue to investigate.
She said the use of an accelerant was “an escalation in the level of criminality” that “could [have caused] the death of individuals if that fire had taken hold”.
“These are serious crimes. These are not just hate crimes. They’re malicious damage and they’re intentional.”
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Webb said police were not investigating the attack as a terrorism incident, but: “Let’s be clear, whether it’s terrorism or not, this is a crime, and it deserves the full extent of the law.”
Detectives had not ruled out the possibility the Newtown and Allawah incidents were linked. Webb said officers were also probing whether there were any connections between the Newtown incident and arson attacks on businesses linked to the Jewish community last year.
“I appeal to anyone out there who knows who has perpetrated these disgusting offences to come forward and tell police who they are. We will continue pursuing them until we find them.”
On Friday, Minns condemned the “appalling” offenders who vandalised the synagogue in his Kogarah electorate.
“There are, unfortunately, some bastards out there who are determined to rip our community in two, and they should be ashamed of the actions that they’ve taken this morning, not just in south Sydney, but across metropolitan Sydney in the last few months.
“It’s the opposite of the community that we want to live in. It doesn’t represent our values.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the only way to deter perpetrators was through “swift arrests and severe punishment”.
National Council of Jewish Women Australia president Lynda Ben-Menashe, who grew up attending Newtown Synagogue, was “sickened by this latest chapter in the campaign of vilification and harassment of our Jewish community”.
“All Australians are at risk when a tiny minority like the Jewish community is the target of hate.”
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NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said: “The hateful criminals who attacked Newtown Synagogue weren’t just attempting to deface a place of worship, they were seeking to destroy it.
“We are a strong and resilient community which remains unbowed in the face of continued attempts to intimidate and menace us”.
Police are also investigating graffiti on a house and five parked cars on Henry Street in Queens Park, which they believe occurred after 11.30pm Friday. Offensive comments written on a poster on Marrickville Road, Marrickville, were also reported to police on Saturday.
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