The Australian Federal Police said it was investigating whether “foreign actors or individuals” were paying criminals to carry out anti-Semitic crimes in the country.
There has been a flurry of such incidents in recent months, most recently a childcare center in Sydney was set on fire and covered in anti-Semitic graffiti. No one was injured.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an emergency cabinet meeting in response to which officials agreed to set up a national database to track anti-Semitic incidents.
So far, the federal police task force, established in December to investigate such incidents, has received more than 166 reports of anti-Semitic crimes.
“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,” Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said, adding that it was possible cryptocurrency was involved.
Identification of digital currency can take longer, Mr. Kershaw said.
The commissioner said the police are also investigating whether young people are committing these crimes and whether they have been radicalized online.
However, Mr Kershaw warned, “intelligence is not the same as evidence” and more charges are expected soon.
Last week, a Sydney man became the first person to be charged by the federal task force, called Special Operation Avalite, over alleged death threats he made to a Jewish organization.
Mr Albanese said Tuesday’s incident at a nursery school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs of Maroubra was “as cowardly as it is disgusting” and described it as a “hate crime”.
“This was an attack aimed at the Jewish community. And it is a crime that concerns us all because it is also an attack on the nation and the society we have built together,” he wrote on social media.
The Jewish Council of Australia, which was founded last year to counter anti-Semitism, said it “strongly condemns” this and all such incidents.
“These acts highlight the urgent need for community collaboration, education and dialogue to combat prejudice and promote understanding,” the statement said.
Most of the recent incidents took place in Sydney and included anti-Semitic graffiti, arson and vandalism of buildings including synagogues.
New South Wales has set up its own state-level taskforce to deal with these incidents and so far 36 people have been charged with antisemitic offences.
An additional 70 arrests were made for similar crimes in the neighboring state of Victoria, where the synagogue was set on fire last month.
