Australian authorities announced Wednesday that they had prevented a planned antisemitic attack after discovering a trailer packed with explosives in a suburb of Sydney.
New South Wales (NSW) Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson told a news conference that the police located the abandoned trailer in Dural, a suburb 22 miles (36 kilometers) northwest of Sydney on January 19.
Upon investigation, officers found a significant quantity of Powergel, an explosive commonly used in mining, along with a list of locations that included Jewish institutions. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the exact locations listed as potential targets, but Hudson confirmed that the Jewish community had been notified of the threat.
Hudson stated that the amount of explosives could have caused a blast radius of at least 130 feet (40 meters).
Several arrests have been made, though police have not released specific details on the suspects or the charges they may face.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the attempted attack against the Jewish community as “intolerable” in a post on X. He wrote: “The epidemic of antisemitism is spreading in Australia almost unchecked. We expect the Australian government to do more to stop this disease!”
The attempted antisemitic terror attack at a synagogue in Sydney is intolerable. This joins a long list of antisemitic attacks in Australia, including setting fire to a childcare center in Sydney, firebombing a synagogue in Melbourne, and many other antisemitic attacks.
The…— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 29, 2025
The foiled plot comes amid a rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict in late 2023, Sydney and Melbourne—home to 85% of the country’s Jewish population—have seen an increase in antisemitic graffiti, arson, and vandalism.
In December, a synagogue in Melbourne was set on fire, forcing worshippers to evacuate, and a Jewish child care center in Sydney was targeted with arson and antisemitic graffiti earlier this month.
A newly established federal police unit tasked with investigating antisemitic incidents has recorded more than 166 cases since its launch in December 2024.
