Newtown: Second man arrested over alleged attempt to set synagogue on fire in anti-Semitic attack

Police officers have tasered a man and arrested him over an alleged attempt to set a Sydney synagogue on fire in an anti-Semitic attack earlier this month.

Strike Force Pearl detectives descended on a hotel in Pyrmont about 1pm local time on Thursday, taking the 37-year-old into custody.

He is the second man to be arrested after the Newtown synagogue and a nearby fence on Georgina Street was allegedly spray-painted with swastikas and an attempt was made to light the property on fire on January 11.

Adam Moule, 33, was arrested by heavily armed riot squad officers in Camperdown and charged on Tuesday.

Mr Moule was initially taken to St Vincent’s Hospital under police guard, but on release was taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with destroying property in company using fire, destroy/damage property in company, goods in personal custody suspected being stolen, and cultivate prohibited plant.

The arrests come amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney. With Australian Federal Police investigating whether “criminals-for-hire” may have been paid in cryptocurrency by underworld networks to carry out the attacks.

The Albanese Government and opposition have been trading barbs over the handling of a series of heinous anti-Semitic crimes, including the torching of synagogues and a childcare centre, that have left Jewish Australians living in fear.

Strike Force Pearl was established in December by officers attached to the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, with support provided by Central Metropolitan Region, to investigate hate crimes with an antisemitic focus across Sydney.

To date, nine people have been charged under the strike force.

• Four men – aged 31, 37, 40 and 26 – have been charged following fires at two businesses in Bondi in October 2024
• Three men – aged 20,19 and 21 – have been charged after 10 vehicles and buildings were allegedly deliberately damaged in Woollahra in November 2024
• A woman – aged 34 – has been charged after vehicles and buildings were allegedly deliberately damaged in Woollahra in December 2024, and now,
• A 33-year-old man has now been charged after a building in Newtown was allegedly graffitied and attempted to be set alight.