National cabinet called on antisemitism

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will convene a meeting of national cabinet about antisemitism today.

The decision follows the antisemitic firebombing of a childcare centre at Maroubra in Sydney's south-east last night. The Only About Children childcare centre which is close to the Maroubra Synagogue was spray painted with "F*** the Jews".

Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal called for a national cabinet last week but the prime minister initially dismissed the idea as "more meetings".

Police told the Sydney Morning Herald this week that they suspect copycat offenders and those “entrenched in criminal activity” may be behind the increasingly frequent and severe antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said the attacks were designed to cause “maximum damage and intimidation” and police were investigating whether they were linked.

“A number of our leads include people who are either well known or entrenched in criminal activity... there’s certainly evidence to date that there are people involved in the criminal element who are behind some of these attacks,” McKenna said.

“There’s also a likelihood of there being copycat-style attacks [and] juveniles involved where they probably don’t even realise the significance [of their actions].”