Sydney restaurateur Judith Lewis couldn’t save the mezuzah, a framed parchment inked with Hebrew prayers, that was hanging in her family’s café when arsonists set it alight in the early hours one Sunday in late October.

The police said they were investigating whether “overseas actors” were involved in the vandalizing of synagogues and a day care center.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said it was possible that cryptocurrencies - which can take longer to identify - had been used. He added that police were also investigating whether young people were carrying out these crimes and whether they had been radicalised online.

Australian detectives are investigating whether foreign actors are paying criminals to commit antisemitic attacks in the country

The Australian Federal Police said it has opened an investigation on Wednesday to determine if local criminals are being paid by "overseas actors of individuals" to commit anti-Semitic acts there.

Australian detectives are examining whether foreign entities are funding criminal groups to carry out antisemitic attacks in the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government convened a “national cabinet” with state leaders this week after a childcare centre near a synagogue in east Sydney was firebombed and defaced with an antisemitic slogan.

The Australian Federal Police announced they are investigating whether overseas actors or individuals are responsible for an escalation in antisemitic attacks in the country in a statement released