US Consulate in Sydney Attacked With a Sledge Hammer, Hamas Symbol Graffitied

Pro-Palestinian symbols are seen spray painted on the windows of the U.S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia, on June 10, 2024. (AAP Image/Stephanie Moring)

The U.S. Consulate in Sydney has allegedly been attacked by an individual wearing a dark hoodie and carrying a sledgehammer.

Inverted red triangles, which have been seen across the globe since the Middle East war ignited in October, were also seen graffitied on the door of the building.

These red triangles are controversial symbols that have been used in videos circulated by Hamas’s military wing to identify Israeli military targets.

New South Wales (NSW) Police told The Epoch Times they are appealing for anyone in the area at the time who saw the incident or who has a dashcam or information relevant to the investigation to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The building in North Sydney was vandalised in the early hours of June 10.

Officers from the North Shore command were called to Miller Street after a person allegedly “damaged nine windows with a hammer” shortly after 3 a.m.

NSW Police confirmed they observed graffiti painted on the door and that the alleged attacker was wearing a hoodie with their face hidden.

“Police have sourced CCTV following a canvass of the area which shows a person wearing a dark-coloured hoodie—with their face obscured—carrying what appears to be a small sledgehammer,” NSW Police said.

In response to the incident, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for respectful political debate and discourse in Australia.

“We should be able to have views—including on issues which are difficult,” he told media in Canberra.

“The Middle East conflict is a difficult issue. It is complex. It certainly needs some nuance and isn’t a matter of just sloganeering.

He said measures “such as painting the U.S. Consulate” do nothing to advance the cause.

Premier Condemns Attack

Meanwhile, NSW Premier Chris Minns described the alleged attack on the U.S. Consulate as “reprehensible.”

“I don’t think it’s the kind of public debate that the overwhelming majority of Australians want to have, even if there’s disagreement about events taking place overseas,” he told reporters in an interview.

“We can make our point in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behaviour.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Senator and Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson has promised a Coalition government will “turn the tide of anti-Semitism” that is dividing Australia.

Ms. Henderson visited Mount Scopus Memorial College after the words “Jew Die” were graffitied at the Melbourne Jewish School.

“We’ve made it clear that we will not stand for anti-Semitism in any form,” she told students at the school.

In Senate Estimates, Ms. Henderson pursued information on behaviour at pro-Palestinian encampments in universities.

Second Time

It comes after police were called to the Sydney U.S. Consulate after vandals attacked the building with graffiti and the words “free Gaza” in April.

Bright pink paint was also seen splashed across the building, and police were called to investigate at about 4:30 a.m. on April 1.

This followed Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and holding about 250 people hostage. Since then, 37,000 people have died in Gaza according to the Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Politicians Stand Together Against Vandalism

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian activists recently vandalised the U.S. Consulate and the offices of multiple Labor parliamentarians in Melbourne.

Slogans “Glory to the Martyrs” and “Free Gaza” were allegedly graffitied on the U.S. Consulate General building on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne, accompanied by broken windows.

In addition, offices of Government Services Minister Bill Shorten and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus were also targeted by vandals.

Victorian Police investigated after the alleged graffiti occurred in the early hours of the morning of May 31.

Mr. Shorten said people have a right to feel strongly about the “distressing scenes in Gaza and Israel, but there’s a line and you don’t cross it.”

“The idea that you are saying you’re protesting for peace by being violent is like burning books for literacy. It’s just rubbish,” he told reporters.

He asserted that if these demonstrators harbour the belief that their cause grants them permission to contravene Australian law, such a notion is unfounded.

“It’s threatening coercive bullying, illegal conduct, and at a very pragmatic level, even if you just separate the fact that what they’re doing is illegal. Who do they think they’re persuading?” he said.

Mr. Shorten added there is sort of an “arrogant minority, dictatorial view” where the vandals think that they are above the law.

“That’s exactly the direct opposite of social cohesion in Australia,” he said.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton also recently condemned the offices of MPs being targeted with “red paint, with vile messages of hate and discrimination and anti-Semitism” in Parliament on June 5 (pdf).

“The world should stand together to condemn the actions of anti-Semitism. We stand as one in this chamber—or we should stand as one—to make sure that we condemn the unacceptable levels of anti-Semitism that we see playing out on our streets,” Mr. Dutton said.

“It has no place, and we will take every action we need, as a chamber, to make sure that we condemn those acts of anti-Semitism in our country.”