SYDNEY, Australia — Australian authorities denounced "hate-filled" vandals who daubed swastikas and other graffiti on a Sydney synagogue in the early hours of Friday, the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish places of worship.
The vandalism on the Southern Sydney Synagogue came little over a month after masked arsonists gutted a Melbourne synagogue, prompting the government to create a federal task force targeting anti-Semitism.
The war in Gaza has sparked regular protests by supporters of Israel and Palestinians while feeding tensions between the two communities across Australia, as in much of the world.
The Sydney vandalism was "a hate-filled attack by individuals that have got hate in their hearts", New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told journalists.
"I think the painting of a swastika on a Jewish building shows you everything you need to know about how appalling these particular individuals are and what their ultimate aim is."
Police said they had increased protection of synagogues around Sydney.
Investigators will review all CCTV in the area, said New South Wales police assistant commissioner Peter McKenna.
"It's abhorrent. It's not the Australian way, as I said, and people who do this sort of thing should realise that we will be out in force to look for them. We will catch them. We will prosecute them," he told reporters.