Australia is launching a federal police taskforce targeting anti-Semitism, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, days after an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue.
“Anti-Semitism is a major threat and anti-Semitism has been on the rise,” Albanese said, citing the synagogue blaze and recent vandalism.
The taskforce will be made up of federal police to be deployed across the country as needed, officials said.
They will focus on threats, violence and hatred towards the Jewish community and parliamentarians.
There is no information to suggest further attacks are likely and Australia’s terror threat assessment will remain at its current level of “probable”, said Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation.