The president of a synagogue defaced with swastikas says he fears Australia is becoming somewhere he cannot be outwardly Jewish.
Political and cultural leaders have condemned the overnight attack on Southern Sydney Synagogue as appalling and monstrous.
On his way home from making a police statement, synagogue president George Foster told AAP the attack was the outcome of racism and anti-Semitism that had been rising since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in southern Israel.
He feared recent incidents - including graffiti, gun gestures and a synagogue razing - would soon turn to physical attacks.
"(My wife) Margaret and I have just been on a European holiday mostly in Portugal and I was fearful of appearing outwardly Jewish," he told AAP on Friday.
"My fear here is that is sort of happening here as well.
"I shouldn't have to be anxious about making obvious my particular religious affiliation."
The former vice president of the Australian Association of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust echoed calls from other Jewish leaders for governments to bolster laws and their enforcement.
"My fear is that, like has happened in other countries, it will escalate to actual physical violence unless people start getting properly prosecuted," Dr Foster said.
The synagogue in Allawah lies in NSW Premier Chris Minns' electorate of Kogarah.
Mr Minns condemned the attack by "bastards ... with hate in their hearts" determined to divide the community.
"It's a monstrous act," he told reporters on Friday.
"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."
The criminals responsible needed to be tracked down, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"There is no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity," he said.
Police are investigating the offensive graffiti, which they believe occurred between 3.55am and 4.30am on Friday.
Late on Friday, police said they were looking for a suspect described as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance, with a medium build, and a long brown beard.
He was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black pants with a white stripe on the side, and aviator-style sunglasses, police said.
The attack follows other anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney in recent months including Monday's vandalism of a car with the words "F*** THE JEWS" in Queens Park in the city's east.
In December, the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed in a devastating attack condemned by Mr Albanese and other leaders.
Those responsible are still at large.
About 100,000 Jewish people live in Australia, with large congregations in Melbourne and Sydney's eastern suburbs.
Jewish leaders called on Australians to take action.
"We’re also calling on our fellow Australians, particularly those in positions of influence across society, to end the silence and publicly denounce this behaviour as repugnant to our national values and a threat to us all," Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said Australians should not have to wake up "filled with apprehension" about whether there had been another anti-Semitic hate crime overnight.
A review in 2024 found several unintended consequences could flow from expanding incitement laws.
The nine-month review by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Bathurst warned using criminal law to curb public incitement of hatred or boost social cohesion could stifle free expression, open debate and freedom of religion.
His review suggested police leaned on more general laws, such as intimidation offences, to deal with anti-Semitic acts.
That appeared the case on Tuesday when NSW police laid a charge of intimidation with intent to cause fear of personal harm against a 20-year-old man accused of making threatening gestures towards Jewish people outside a northern Sydney synagogue.
That man is due in Hornsby court on January 29.
