Anti -Semitic attacks in Australia: Police are investigating order offenders

Anti -Semitic attacks in Australia: Police are investigating order offenders

in Brisbane, Australia, the Sydneyer restaurant owner Judith Lewis was able to save a framed parchment with Hebrew, which was hung in her family café, as an arsonist on Sunday at the end of October at the end of October.

destruction of the family business

The symbol of the Jewish faith was badly damaged by the fire, which Lewis ’Continental Kitchen destroyed. This café served Sidneyers for more than 50 years of kosher dishes and was only 20 minutes walk from Bondi Beach. Lewis bought new MEUZAHS, but cannot get it to hang them up in the new rooms of the café in the nearby district of Darlinghurst. "I have her on my desk and I'm a little hesitant to hang them up ... something is stopping me at the moment," she said.

increase in anti -Semitic attacks

Many in Australia's 117,000 strong Jewish community are worried after a wave of anti -Semitic attacks in the two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. These attacks include arson attacks on synagogues as well as swastika that were sprayed on buildings and cars.

Around a dozen people have been arrested, but Jewish leaders demand more measures from the government officials. These want to prevent antisraeli sentiments from leading to violence on the streets of Australia, after 15 months of war in Gaza. The authorities examine 15 "serious allegations" among more than 166 reports of anti -Semitic attacks since mid -December, when the special operation Avalite was launched to combat rising anti -Semitism, said the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Reece Kershaw, in a statement on Tuesday.

Investigations and payments from abroad

The officials look beyond the suspects who are accused of having committed the deeds and examining "foreign actors" who may have paid for their services. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Wednesday: "It is unclear who from whom or where the payments come." Albanese did not want to comment on the investigation, but said that Five Eyes Alliance-Australia's security alliance with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand-"plays a role".

text messages indicate paid orders

text messages between two men who guilty of one of the Sydneyer arson attacks indicate the participation of a third party who pulled the threads. Local media reported that a mobile phone, which was ensured by one of the men, contained an indication of a third person who was known on the encrypted Signal app under the pseudonym "Jamesbond".

response to racist hate crimes

The security measures at Jewish locations in Sydney, including synagogues, schools and shops, have been reinforced, and the authorities are increasingly being used against people who are accused of anti -Semitism. "It is completely disgusting, and these bastards are held accountable by the New South Wales police," said the Prime Minister of NSW, Chris Minns, on Tuesday, just a few hours after an arson attack on a childcare center near a synagogue.

Some Jewish groups accuse the government of reacting too slowly, an assertion made by the leading opposition party. The liberal party leader Peter Dutton said that the increase in anti-Semitic attacks was "completely predictable", in view of the protests that took place on October 9, 2023-just two days after Hamas' fatal attack on Israel, who triggered the Gaza War.

Community support and reconstruction

Lewis, whose café has burned, explained that the punishment for the perpetrators was too mild and that she finds it "unmistakable". "He should get the full punishment of 10 years," she said. The police have announced that the judgment appeal. Despite these difficult circumstances, she received a lot of support from suppliers and members of the community who came together around the café to help with the reopening, even if the business has recorded a steep decline.

"One thing that really surprised me was that people came right after the fire and told us: 'Tell us what we can do. We can clean, we can do everything you want," reported Lewis.