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Federal police are investigating if antisemitic attacks in Australia are being funded by "overseas actors" paying local criminals, sometimes in cryptocurrency.
In the wake of the latest attack on a childcare centre in Sydney's east, federal and state authorities are being urged by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urgently address rising antisemitism across Australia.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed tonight that officers suspect there could be overseas interference driving some of the antisemitic crime in Australia.
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"We are looking into whether overseas actors or individuals have paid local criminals in Australia to carry out some of these crimes in our suburbs," Kershaw said.
"We are looking at if – or how – they have been paid, for example in cryptocurrency, which can take longer to identify.
"We are looking into whether any young people are involved in carrying out some of these crimes, and if they have been radicalised online and encouraged to commit antisemitic acts."
He said antisemitism was "a disease in our community, and it needs to be aggressively attacked".
"There is no doubt there is an escalation of antisemitism in Australia.
"We know this is changing the movements and behaviour of a community that is in fear."
Albanese called a national cabinet meeting after the latest attack overnight, where a childcare centre was graffitied and set alight in Sydney's east.
Fire crews were called to the centre on Storey Street in Maroubra to find the ground floor well involved in fire, along with offensive graffiti spray painted on an outside wall.
Police said the building was significantly damaged and confirmed the centre was unoccupied at the time.
The state and federal governments have vowed to split the cost of any damage to the centre not covered by insurance.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation is underway into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
There were no injuries reported.
State police chiefs called to action
Kershaw will meet with state police commissioners across the country tomorrow, where the leaders will discuss other tactics or "matters we can consider".
NSW Police Force Commissioner Karen Webb said today that an additional 20 investigators would be added to Strike Force Pearl.
"This effectively doubles the investigative capacity of Strike Force Pearl, which continues to work tirelessly to identify and arrest those responsible for the recent antisemitic incidents in Sydney and put them before the courts," she said.
"I have also significantly increased proactive taskings aimed to disrupt this type of criminal activity around significant sites and places of worship across Sydney.
"This boost in resources allocated to Strike Force Pearl reflects the seriousness of these crimes and the importance of putting those responsible before the courts as soon as possible.
"These acts are despicable and have no place in our society."
'Evil hate crime'
Albanese, alongside NSW Premier Chris Minns and investigators, visited the centre this morning.
The pair also spoke with Rabbi Zalman Goldstein.
Albanese said he would convene the state and territory leaders after he was asked whether national cabinet would meet.
"We'll have a discussion this afternoon. We met last week, the premier of Victoria and the acting premier of NSW," he said.
"Obviously, like in other places at this time of the year, people have been on leave. I know that the premier came back, here in NSW. So we'll have that discussion this afternoon."
Albanese described the attack as an 'evil hate crime' today.
"Our childcare centers are places of joy and harmony. What we saw overnight, is the latest in a series of antisemitic hate crimes. It is a vicious crime," Albanese said.
"The only objective which will be achieved by this crime is the fulfilment of these people being caught, charged, and facing the full force of the law.
"This is a place for children and families, and it should never have been denigrated by this despicable and horrifying crime."
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It's understood the centre is located near a synagogue.
Minns described the scenes of the "torched child care centre" as "completely heartbreaking".
"I want to make it clear that this is atrocious," he said.
"It's against everything and all of the traditions that we hold dear in Australia. These antisemitic attacks are the opposite of the kind of country that we all want to live in.
"NSW Police are conducting a major investigation in relation to who is responsible for this vicious hate crime.
"It is completely disgusting, and these bastards will be rounded up by NSW Police."
Eight people have been arrested and charged over antisemitic attacks in Sydney's east since October last year.
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The attack comes just a week after a Jewish leader's former home was vandalised in an antisemitic attack.
The home in Dover Heights used to belong to Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and a prominent figure in the Jewish community.
Multiple cars were sprayed with graffiti, two set on fire and a home, formerly owned by a prominent figure in the Jewish community, splashed with red paint.
Ryvchin released a statement on social media this morning, calling on national cabinet to deal with these attacks as a "national emergency".
"To plan and execute the firebombing of a childcare centre requires a depth of savagery that is difficult to imagine," he said.
"Today, families will be having conversations about whether it's safe to send their children to the places where they should be safest. Places of worship, homes and now pre-schools have all been targeted by domestic terrorists.
"Antisemitism consumes everything. It is the disease that is destroying our country."
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Ryvchin is a prominent figure in Australia's Jewish community and has been a vocal figurehead for peace in Sydney since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 7, 2023.
Anti-Defamation Commission Chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said the attack was a "chilling reminder that antisemitism knows no boundaries".
"Australia has woken up to an act of cowardly antisemitic terror that stains the very ground it was committed on," he said.
"The deliberate destruction of a childcare centre, compounded by the vile smearing of antisemitic graffiti on its walls, is nothing short of an attack on the moral fabric of our society.
"This is not just a fire—it is a blazing symbol of the hatred festering beneath the surface, daring us to confront it with unyielding resolve."
NSW police have arrested and charged eight people as part of Strike Force Pearl, an operation set up to investigate antisemitic hate crimes across Sydney's east.
Among them, a 34-year-old woman was arrested yesterday after she allegedly set fire to a car and graffitied two buildings in Woollahra in Sydney's east in December 2024.
Police released new footage of the woman's arrest this afternoon, which showed the moments before she was charged with property damage and participating in a criminal group.
She faced Liverpool Local Court today and was refused bail to reappear in court next month.
Since October 2023, 181 people have been arrested after NSW Police started Operation Shelter targeting hate crimes in the community.
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