<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>336588</docID> <postdate>2025-01-17 08:44:45</postdate> <headline>Outrage, condemnation over anti-Semitic arson attack</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-336589" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20250106112735285472-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>A fresh arson and graffiti attack in Sydney's east is the latest in a series. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS. The photo has been digitally blurred to obscure the offensive graffiti)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Dominic Giannini</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Two cars have been torched and graffitied with slogans in a fresh anti-Semitic attack, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressing his outrage.</strong></p> <p>The house, in Dover Heights in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was doused with red paint while cars were sprayed with anti-Semitic phrases just before 4am Friday.</p> <p>There have been no reports of injuries, police say.</p> <p>"The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously," a statement said on Friday.</p> <p>The attack "isn't just an assault on Jews, it's an attack on all Australians", Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said.</p> <p>"The October 7 terrorist attack and the subsequent war have unleashed unprecedented anti-Semitism in Australia which has fractured our social cohesion," he said.</p> <p>"A ceasefire on the other side of the world won't stop this, our governments must act decisively at home to ensure Jewish Australians are safe."</p> <p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the latest incident "another anti-Semitic attack that is against everything that we stand for".</p> <p>"This is an outrage," he told ABC radio.</p> <p>He welcomed the Australian Federal Police charging a man on Thursday with making death threats to members of a Jewish organisation.</p> <p>"This is the first charges that have arisen from Special Operation Avalite that I established last month that continues to work to identify prolific anti-Semites causing high harm in the community," Mr Albanese said.</p> <p>"That is why we set it up and it is good that these charges have been laid."</p> <p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers called for leaders to try and bring people together following "a troubling rise in anti-Semitism".</p> <p>"There's been a disgraceful unacceptable rise in anti-Semitism, we've seen a bit more of that in Sydney overnight," he said.</p> <p>"We need to stamp it out wherever it exists and the government is playing a role in that."</p> </body>