Car Set on Fire, ‘Kill Israiel’ (Sic) Graffiti in Sydney

Photo Credit: Google Maps

A street in Woollahra, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

A wealthy Jewish community in suburban Sydney, Australia, has been targeted for a second time, with a car set on fire and nine homes defaced with antisemitic graffiti.

Recent antisemitic attack in Sydney: Vandals torched a car and sprayed anti-Israel graffiti in Woollahra, home to Australia’s largest Jewish community. Govt condemns the act and establishes a task force to address rising antisemitic incidents.

(Can’t even properly write?) pic.twitter.com/dLhOnOpLI6

— The Raven (@vishnu_ksajeev) December 11, 2024

Local media images showed the misspelled phrase “Kill Israiel” spray-painted in black on a white wall in Woollahra. The spelling suggests the hate graffiti was written by an Arabic-speaker.

New South Wales Police and Fire Rescue responded around 1 AM on Wednesday after reports of a vehicle being set alight and nearby properties being vandalized. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed a Toyota Corolla.

According to police, the car, two buildings, and a footpath were damaged by graffiti. There are also reports of hate speech spray-painted on seven homes.

Police are searching for two males believed to be in their late teens who were “disguised” and seen fleeing the scene in the early hours.

According to New South Wales state police, the offenders set fire to the car they had been driving and defaced the burned vehicle, as well as another car, two buildings, and a footpath with graffiti.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the act, calling it “an outrage and another antisemitic attack.”

Earlier this week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced it was preparing to issue a travel advisory urging Jews worldwide to reconsider non-essential trips to Australia. The move comes in response to the suspected terrorist firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne, a grim reminder of escalating threats faced by Jewish communities in the country.