Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy

Jewish students in Sydney returned to school on Friday with a heightened security presence, days after police said they foiled a planned antisemitic attack in the city using a trailer filled with explosives.

A spate of attacks in recent months have alarmed the country’s Jews, drawn criticism from Israel, and placed pressure on the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who faces re-election in polls that must be held by May.

Antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on three sites including the Mount Sinai College in the city’s east early on Thursday, one of almost a dozen incidents in the city in recent months that police say appeared to be coordinated.

Students there returned on Friday after Australia‘s summer break, with police and private security stationed outside the building.

“We’re really grateful that the police are here and protecting us,” said Gina Ferrer, a mother dropping off her child at the school.

“I love this country, I think it’s the best country in the world, but for the first time in my life I actually feel really let down by Australia.”

Matt Thistlethwaite, the federal lawmaker for the area that has a high Jewish population, said he had been working with local police to increase patrols in the area.

SECURITY HEIGHTENED

Australia has been grappling with a series of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings, and cars since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war in late 2023.

Police in New South Wales state, which includes Sydney, said on Wednesday they had found explosives in a caravan, or trailer, that could have created a blast wave of 40 meters (130 feet).

There was some indication the explosives might be used in an antisemitic attack that could have caused mass casualties, police said.

The escalating attacks have prompted Jews to hire security guards for private events and remove visible signs of their Jewish identity, according to security companies and community leaders.

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella group for Australia‘s Jews, said some Jews were removing skull caps worn by men as a symbol of faith while outside, and taking down mezuzah, a parchment scroll containing Hebrew verses traditionally attached from the doors of Jewish homes.

“The more of these attacks that we see, and particularly given their gravity and the scale, people will begin to question how they can live in Australia as Jews, and that will then force them into a very difficult choice,” he said.

Stephen Vogel, founder of Sayeret Security, a private security company catering to the Jewish community in Sydney, said he had seen an increase in business in recent weeks.

“People are a little bit more nervous at the moment and want to have security for them for their functions, just to mitigate any potential risk,” he said.