Australian police say anti-Semitic crimes may be funded overseas

Australia’s federal police say they are investigating whether “foreign actors or individuals” pay criminals to commit anti-Semitic crimes in the country.

Such incidents have increased in recent months, most recently a kindergarten in Sydney was set on fire and sprayed with anti-Jewish graffiti. No one was injured.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a cabinet meeting in response, where officials agreed to create a national database to track anti-Semitic incidents.

So far, the federal police task force set up in December to investigate such incidents has received more than 166 reports of anti-Semitic crimes.

“We are looking into whether foreign actors or individuals have paid local criminals in Australia to carry out some of these crimes in our neighbourhoods,” Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said, adding that cryptocurrency was possible.

Digital currencies may take longer to identify, Mr. Kershaw said.

The commissioner said the police were also investigating whether youths were committing these crimes and were radicalized online.

However, Mr Kershaw warned, “intelligence does not equal evidence” and more charges were expected soon.

Last week, a Sydney man became the first person charged by the federal task force, Operation Special Operation Avalite, over alleged death threats against a Jewish organization.

Albanese said Tuesday’s incident at a nursery school in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Maroubra was “disgusting as it is cowardly” and called it a “hate crime”.

“This was an attack on the Jewish community. And it’s a crime that worries us all, it’s also an attack on the nation and society we’ve built together,” he wrote on social media.

The Jewish Council of Australia, which was formed last year against anti-Semitism, said it “strongly condemns” this and all similar incidents.

“These actions underscore the urgent need for collaboration, education and community dialogue to combat prejudice and promote understanding,” he said in a statement.

Most of the recent incidents have taken place in Sydney and have involved anti-Semitic graffiti, arson and vandalism, including at synagogues.

New South Wales has set up its own state-level task force to deal with these incidents and 36 people have been charged with anti-Semitic crimes so far.

A further 70 arrests have been made for similar offenses in the neighboring state of Victoria, where A synagogue was set on fire last month.