Vandalism spree accused appears in court
'This was targeting Jewish people, not people from Israel, or the Israeli government'
A man accused of antisemitic vandalism has been denied bail despite his family offering a $500,000 surety, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday.
Up to a dozen cars were vandalised, a vehicle was set alight, and buildings were defaced with anti-Israel graffiti in leafy Wellington Street, Woollahra on November 20, with the defacement extending to nearby Ocean Street, where the upmarket restaurant Chiswick was also daubed with offensive slogans.
Mohommed Farhat, who was arrested in connection with the incident while attempting to fly to Bali, appeared via video link in Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday. His barrister, Rebekah Rodger, told the court the Bali trip had been booked before the alleged incidents occurred.
Police prosecutor Andrew Maldigri said the attacks were specifically targeting Jewish people, rather than Israel or its government.
“He wasn’t looking up the location of the Israeli embassy, but the location of the [Wolper] Jewish hospital,” Maldigri told the court, according to the Herald.
“This was targeting Jewish people, not people from Israel, or the Israeli government.”
The prosecution revealed that forensic evidence linked Farhat and a co-accused to a vehicle used in the attack, with GPS and Uber records placing him at the scene.
The court heard that Farhat has a prominent Hezbollah tattoo extending from his collar to his neck, which the prosecutor described as “brazen” support for the terrorist organisation. “If someone is as brazen as to get a tattoo of a swastika on their neck it would go toward the risk to the community,” Maldigri said.
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