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| Antisemitic crimes may be funded overseas, say Australian police | Antisemitic crimes may be funded overseas, say Australian police |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Australia's federal police have said they are investigating whether "overseas actors or individuals" are paying local criminals to carry out antisemitic crimes in the country. | |
| There has been a spate of such incidents in recent months, the latest of which saw a childcare centre in Sydney set alight and sprayed with anti-Jewish graffiti. No-one was injured. | There has been a spate of such incidents in recent months, the latest of which saw a childcare centre in Sydney set alight and sprayed with anti-Jewish graffiti. No-one was injured. |
| Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a snap cabinet meeting in response, where officials agreed to set up a national database to track antisemitic incidents. | Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a snap cabinet meeting in response, where officials agreed to set up a national database to track antisemitic incidents. |
| Thus far, the federal police taskforce, set up in December to investigate such incidents, received more than 166 reports of antisemitic crimes. | Thus far, the federal police taskforce, set up in December to investigate such incidents, received more than 166 reports of antisemitic crimes. |
| Albanese said it appeared some of the crimes were "being perpetrated by people who don't have a particular issue, aren't motivated by an ideology, but are paid actors". | |
| "Now, it's unclear who or where the payments are coming from," he told reporters on Wednesday. | |
| Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said it was possible that cryptocurrencies - which can take longer to identify - had been used. | |
| He added that police were also investigating whether young people were carrying out these crimes and whether they had been radicalised online. | |
| However, Mr Kershaw cautioned, "intelligence is not the same as evidence" and more charges were expected soon. | However, Mr Kershaw cautioned, "intelligence is not the same as evidence" and more charges were expected soon. |
| Last week, a man from Sydney became the first person to be charged by the federal taskforce, dubbed Special Operation Avalite, over alleged death threats he made towards a Jewish organisation. | Last week, a man from Sydney became the first person to be charged by the federal taskforce, dubbed Special Operation Avalite, over alleged death threats he made towards a Jewish organisation. |
| Albanese said Tuesday's incident at a childcare centre in the eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra was "as cowardly as it is disgusting" and described it as a "hate crime". | Albanese said Tuesday's incident at a childcare centre in the eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra was "as cowardly as it is disgusting" and described it as a "hate crime". |
| "This was an attack targeted at the Jewish community. And it is a crime that concerns us all because it is also an attack on the nation and society we have built together," he wrote on social media. | "This was an attack targeted at the Jewish community. And it is a crime that concerns us all because it is also an attack on the nation and society we have built together," he wrote on social media. |
| Melbourne's Addas Israel synagogue was set alight in December while people were inside | Melbourne's Addas Israel synagogue was set alight in December while people were inside |
| Israel's deputy foreign minister told the ABC that Australia's government had been "inflaming" problems in the local community by not clamping down harder on antisemitic crimes. | |
| But Albanese on Wednesday said his government had "acted from day one" to protect Australia's Jewish community, and criticised those seeking to make it a "political issue". | |
| The Jewish Council of Australia, which was set up last year in opposition to antisemitism, said that it "strongly condemns" this and all such incidents. | The Jewish Council of Australia, which was set up last year in opposition to antisemitism, said that it "strongly condemns" this and all such incidents. |
| "These acts underscore the urgent need for cooperation, education and community dialogue to combat prejudice and promote understanding," it said in a statement. | "These acts underscore the urgent need for cooperation, education and community dialogue to combat prejudice and promote understanding," it said in a statement. |
| Most of the recent incidents have taken place in Sydney and have involved antisemitic graffiti, arson and vandalism of buildings including synagogues. | Most of the recent incidents have taken place in Sydney and have involved antisemitic graffiti, arson and vandalism of buildings including synagogues. |
| New South Wales has set up its own state-level taskforce to address these incidents and more than 35 people have been charged so far with antisemitism-related offences. These include a 33-year-old man who was charged on Wednesday over an attempt to set fire to a synagogue earlier this month. | |
| A further 70 arrests have been made for similar crimes in the neighbouring state of Victoria, where a synagogue was set on fire last month. | A further 70 arrests have been made for similar crimes in the neighbouring state of Victoria, where a synagogue was set on fire last month. |
| On Wednesday, police said they had charged a 33-year-old Sydney man over the |