New South Wales police are investigating after a car was vandalized with arson and anti-Semitic graffiti outside a home in Sydney's east where a prominent member of Australia's Jewish community once lived.
The Dover Heights house was also daubed with red paint just before 4am on Friday.
Residents said they believed the attack was the result of a case of mistaken identity where Alex Ryvchin, chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, had lived.
Guardian Australia understands the house is Levchin's former home. The committee was contacted for comment. Police have not received any reports of injuries.
NSW Premier Chris Minns called the Dover Heights attack a "sickening and dangerous act of violence" and the "latest example of escalating anti-Semitic attacks in our communities".
"Civil society is united in condemning this blatant racism," he said.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley called the attack a "disgusting act of hate that we will not tolerate".
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"Police are making every effort to identify and arrest the perpetrators," she said. "There is no place for hatred or anti-Semitism in our society. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their cities, homes and places of worship."
"A number of vehicles were found spray-painted with graffiti, two cars were set alight and a house had paint thrown on it," NSW Police said. Photos from the scene showed "Fuck the Jews" graffiti on one of the cars.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was "an outrage, another attack on everything we stand for."
NSW Jewish House of Representatives president David Ossip said he was "deeply disturbed and sickened to wake up to news of yet another anti-Semitic attack".
"Criminal acts such as this, carried out late at night by masked cowards and thugs, are designed to threaten and intimidate the Jewish community and further undermine our social cohesion," he said.
Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive Aaron Cassuto said the attack was "not just an attack on Jews, but on all Australians".
He said the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war sparked unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism in Australia and undermined our social cohesion.