Melbourne synagogue spray-painted in a series of attacks by man in Scream mask
The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue, at South Yarra in Melbourne's inner south-east, has been the target of graffiti five times from 11 March to 30 July.
On each occasion, police say an unknown man arrived alone on a black e-scooter and tagged 'offensive phrases'.
Security camera footage was released on Monday in a bid to track down the suspect, who is described as white, of medium build and bald.
He is alleged to have usually wore a long black jacket and black and white face covering, but police say he also donned a Ghostface mask from the movie Scream in his two most recent forays on 22 and 30 July.
'There is absolutely no place at all in our society for hate-based behaviour,' police said.
Melbourne synagogues have repeatedly become a target after Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the nation's subsequent military campaign in Gaza.
Two buildings belonging to the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, in Melbourne's south-east, were gutted in an alleged firebombing in December 2024.
Giovanni Laulu, 21, was the first person directly charged over the alleged arson and fronted court on Thursday.
In a separate incident, an allegedly deliberately lit fire at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on 4 July forced a group of about 20 people inside the building to flee.
Sign up to Breaking News Australia
Get the most important news as it breaks
after newsletter promotion
It was roundly condemned, including by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Angelo Loras, a 34-year-old from New South Wales, had since been charged with reckless conduct endangering life, criminal damage by fire and possession of a controlled weapon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien review – murder mystery probes privilege and class politics
Interrogating your privilege can be a divisive, somewhat uncomfortable endeavour – but the way it underpins everyday lives makes for great fiction. It's a topic that has been explored via familial relationships in Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, through the employer-employee dynamic in Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age, and in a schoolgirl narrative in Alice Pung's teen novel Laurinda. Australian author Zeynab Gamieldien's second book, Learned Behaviours, also tackles the issue, via a murder mystery: a searing look at how the intersections of race, class and gender can affect the trajectory of a person's life, even when they no longer seem consequential. It follows Zaid, a prospective barrister who has made considerable efforts to shed his past in a diverse outer part of Sydney known to locals as The Area, which he describes as a 'broad collection of western Sydney suburbs with Canterbury-Bankstown at its heart'. He has travelled overseas, lived in London, drives a Mercedes, and works a job that sees him socialise with the wealthier and whiter north shore and eastern suburbs types on weekends. There he 'assume[s] the role of informant' on the quirks of his past life; it's a currency he trades off in his new world. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning That past comes back to him in the form of Amira, the sister of his high school best friend, Hass, who killed himself after being arrested for the murder of a female friend in their final year of school. Amira has found Hass's diary and asks Zaid to read it, convinced her brother might have been innocent. Her request draws Zaid back in time to confront painful memories, make rattling revelations and square up to his own role in his friend's death. Told between his high-school past and the present, Learned Behaviours isn't a typical murder mystery. Fans of true crime and meticulously plotted crime fiction might find the ending lacks the kind of detail that provides closure; they might even scoff at the possibility that the police bungled the investigation so spectacularly. But this book is not about a clean finish or plausibility (I could never imagine the boys I know from The Area keeping a diary, for example). In it, the intricacies of the murder investigation take a back seat to the bigger themes of belonging, upward social mobility and wrangling a past that weighs heavy on your present – not just in Zaid's case, but in that of his father, Tapey, who is constantly dwelling on the injustices he experienced in District 6 in apartheid South Africa. Gamieldien has done an excellent job of interrogating privilege without being sententious or didactic. It's in the cost of Zaid's barrister training, which he feels more than his moneyed colleagues; it's in the bills piling up in his father's home, and Tapey's reticence to seek compensation for the wrongs done against him; it's in his sister Iman's struggle to leave an abusive relationship in London and return home with a young child in tow. Despite appearances, Zaid knows he has not really 'made it'; he's perpetually on the outer edge of his colleagues' orbit, lacking the fancy school connections that are traded for favours in the workplace, and the weekends away at coastal second homes. Like Gamieldien's debut, The Scope of Permissibility – which explored the push-pull of faith and desire – Learned Behaviours explores social codes and what happens when they are broken. Zaid's inability to swim is a motif, representing how the stark disparity between social classes is experienced on even the most mundane levels. Zaid does his best to rectify it, and the novel is littered with scenes where he plunges himself into bodies of water, hoping for a shift. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Early on in the story, Zaid realises that ''making it' is not synonymous with movement', and that social climbing does not ensure success or belonging. As he ventures back to The Area more frequently – to continue visiting his father, yes, but also to spend more time with Amira – Zaid begins to recognise that getting out of The Area doesn't mean escaping it. Learned Behaviours is a pacy, compelling and immersive narrative that deftly tackles a weighty topic. It's understated but sophisticated, with more than one tragedy at its heart: a murder, yes, but also a necessary reminder that some people can 'afford missteps … requiring only a single step to get back on course', while others need to tread more carefully, or risk being derailed for ever. Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien is out through Ultimo Press, $34.99
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Pari just wants to get a good night's sleep – but each morning he's woken by NSW police, telling him to move on
Pari Nikau was woken by being hit in the face with a shovel. He'd been sleeping in a shed on a rooftop near Sydney's CBD and he thought he was safe. He remembers playing dead, then blackness. Hours later, he woke at St Vincent's hospital, where his head was being stapled. Two weeks after the 16 June assault, Nikau was told he was being discharged. 'I said 'I don't have money, I'm homeless',' says Nikau, who doesn't qualify for housing assistance from the government as he is from New Zealand and is not an Australian citizen. 'The hospital shouldn't have let me out unless they knew I'd be cared for.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email Nikau briefly moved to a centre that provides accommodation and healthcare to homeless people, before losing that spot. Now Nikau is among a group of rough sleepers at Sydney's Central Station struggling with changing rules. Earlier this month, after a string of increasingly restrictive rules, they were told to move from a sheltered area between 6am until midnight. 'I was in pain, I moved [to Central Station] because I need to sleep,' Nikau says. 'And every time I do, they come over and yell at me to move on. I'm over having to repack. I can't start again.' Since the latest change, Nikau and his friends have moved from the light rail stop to a partially covered area out of the way of passengers. They're still woken at 6am, but they can return once the morning peak hour is over. But there's nowhere to sit, forcing them to huddle on the floor, exposed to the elements. Nikau still has his arm in a cast and is still recovering from multiple wounds. Amanda, who did not want her surname publish, also doesn't qualify for housing assistance as she's American, has been sleeping at the station for two-and-a-half years. She says Transport for NSW told her the rules had changed due to the 'flow of commuters' and 'inconveniencing passengers'. 'We said 'we commuters as well, I take the train multiple times a day',' says Amanda. 'This train station is publicly funded, so why aren't we allowed to stay here?' Amanda still stays on the benches near the light rail stop – she has back problems and needs seating. She keeps her belongings tidy: a few suitcases, some backpacks covered in plastic sheeting. So far, she hasn't been reprimanded, but she says the police treat them 'like we're children'. 'They wake us up like it's a school day,' she says. 'How are we inconveniencing people when we're not in the way of traffic? It's ridiculous.' A NSW police spokesperson says officers can issue move on directions if a person is causing, or is likely to cause, inconvenience to other people on railway premises. 'Failure to comply with a move on direction can result in a fine or removal from the premises. 'Being homeless is not an offence, and NSW Police will continue to work with the community and help homeless people make contact with appropriate services if needed.' Kylie Emery, who has been sleeping at Central Station while grappling with complex trauma and PTSD, has been looking out for Nikau. She's been recovering from the 'worst flu of [her] life'. 'We can't use the benches because they say we're disrupting commuters, so I've been sleeping in wet clothes in the pouring rain,' she says. Transport for NSW has recently begun confiscating or disposing of belongings left unattended. Last month, an unattributed poster warned homeless people at Central Station to remove their belongings or they would be 'disposed of', which a spokesperson for Transport for NSW says was a directive from NSW police. 'People looking for their items are referred to the station office where they are assisted,' they say. 'If unattended belongings are moved, they are able to be collected. Sydney Trains will hold belongings for at least 24 hours.' Stephen Devine, who has been staying near the light rail stop for the past few weeks, has been helping to guard his friends' belongings. He says one elderly woman went to get hand surgery last Friday, and stayed in hospital overnight. The next morning, all her things were taken. Although she was able to recover her things, he worried that if she had come back a day later, her belongings would have been binned – something he says he has seen happen to other people. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Nikau also found his items had been taken when he returned from the smoking area. After asking a number of people, he found his belongings next to some rubbish bins. Kira Levin, a solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre says police can only move people on in public areas in accordance with the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act, which covers instances where people are obstructing persons or traffic. She says authorised officers can also remove property if it's unattended, but there's also a specific protocol for homeless people in public spaces – which requires that notice be given. She says the poster was 'not appropriate and not clear' as it didn't specify who was giving the order. 'Creating this confusion is really not helpful.' Levin says instead of police instructing the homeless people to move on, they should talk to them and find out 'why there are a growing number of people sleeping there'. 'Where are people supposed to go is my question,' she says. 'There's a limited number of places in Sydney where there's shelter and CCTV.' According to a state government count, the number of rough sleepers has grown by nearly 70% in five years, from 1,314 in 2020 to 2,192 in 2025. Levin says many have difficulty finding temporary accommodation or social housing, as they can lack identification, be unable to pay or may not be a permanent resident. 'You need to engage with people in a way that's trauma informed, explaining what's happening, and giving options about where they're supposed to go,' she says. The NSW minister for homelessness, Rose Jackson, says she is 'absolutely concerned about the situation at Central Station'. 'No one should be forced to live rough. It's not safe, it's not dignified, and we have a responsibility to do better,' she says. 'We've already surged services in the area to connect people with support, accommodation and long-term housing pathways.' Jackson says the state government has provided the largest investment in homelessness services in NSW history, including a $6.6bn Building Homes for NSW program, focused on social housing and homelessness support. 'We know the system hasn't worked. But we are rebuilding it,' she says. 'People experiencing homelessness are not problems to be managed.' For Nikau, all he wants is a place to rest and recuperate. 'I'm constantly scared to sleep,' he says. 'Where is the compassion? I don't get the support a lot of other people do, but I always want to help others. I'll give someone my spare shoes. But people just ignore us.' With additional reporting by Luca Ittimani
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Men 'who filmed themselves targeting Orthodox Jews with water pistols' are arrested on suspicion of racist hate crime
Two suspected pranksters have been arrested after appearing to spray Orthodox Jews with water pistols in a cruel targeted prank. The men, aged 26 and 36, were taken into custody for questioning on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault on Thursday. Police officers made the arrests in response to a video, which was widely shared online, of two men driving around Salford and spraying members of the Jewish community with water guns. In the short social media clip, the pair, who have been branded 'playground bullies', can be heard cruelly laughing as they soak innocent passersby on the street. In another clip, one of the so-called 'pranksters' held his phone near a Jewish man before playing an Apple Pay sound effect and saying: 'You are very rich, I just got £60 from you.' Greater Manchester Police have also seized the vehicle believed to be the one seen in the footage, along with the water pistol suspected to have been used during the so-called 'prank'. The force insisted it had a 'zero-tolerance approach to hate crime in any form' and said it is treating this incident with the 'utmost seriousness'. Chief Inspector Simon Ashcroft, of GMP's Salford district, added: 'We are also aware from other footage that there may be further victims, and we urge anyone who believes they have been targeted to contact GMP or the Community Security Trust.' The video was eventually removed from Instagram and Tiktok and the account has since uploaded another video, where they are not targeting orthodox views with the water pistol. Before they were deleted, the clips reached nearly a million likes on Instagram and included anti-semitic comments including rat, pig and nose emojis. The posts were later edited to include a disclaimer, The Telegraph reported, which read: 'This video was made purely for humorous purposes. It is just a joke and not hate speech in any way. Please do not take it the wrong way.' But the clips have since sparked fury from anti-semitism campaigners, who demanded action be taken against the pair. A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Anti-semitism said: 'These men – who appear to be driving around and targeting Jews with a water gun – are behaving like playground bullies. 'Harassing Jewish people is not a prank but anti-semitic abuse, and doing so from the comfort of your car is particularly cowardly. 'We are also aware that this is not the first time that one of these men has targeted Jews for videos on social media. 'Our legal team is examining the footage and assessing options. Those responsible must be identified and held to account.' The video was shared to the TikTok account konsp1ra who has also posted videos at a boxing club and asking people if they want to fight the police. In 2024, religious hate crime rose by 25 per cent. With crimes targeted at Jewish people more than doubling from the previous year. In London, the number of anti-semitic hate crimes reported to Met Police corresponded to nearly one per every 1,000 Jews of the 270,000 that live in London, making it eight times higher than the rate per 1,000 Muslims living in London. Figures from the Community Security Trust's (CST) Anti-semitic Incidents Report from January to June this year state that 1,978 instances of anti-Jewish hate were recorded across the UK in the first six months of this year, up 105 per cent on the same period last year. Just over half were linked to, or referenced, the Hamas atrocities of October 7 last year, Israel, the Palestinian territories or the subsequent war, the charity said. The total included one incident of 'extreme violence' - an alleged arson attack on a residential property - during the period, the report said. Cases of assault jumped 41 per cent period-on-period from 86 to 121.
