Jewish schools bolster security, parents ‘on edge’ as school year begins

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Questions are being raised about what changes could be made to ensure children and staff are safe as they return to school after a spate of antisemitic attacks.

Transcript

00:00It's fair to say there is both a mixture of anger and fear, not only for the welfare of

00:07children, staff, and indeed the parents dropping off their kids to school today, but also over

00:13the general confluence of anti-Semitic incidents, not just at Mount Sinai College, but also

00:18just last week we saw a childcare center which isn't actually a Jewish center, but is nearby

00:24the Maroubra Synagogue, and of course this school here, Mount Sinai, where I am right

00:28now, that has seen a real state of fear take hold and a frustration that these incidents

00:34are still taking place and so rapidly thereafter.

00:37We spoke to the parents as they dropped off their children for the first day back for

00:41most of their kids, here's what they had to say.

00:44A bit apprehensive about the first day back at school, but everyone's excited for what

00:50the new year begins, and together as a community we'll stick together.

00:55We're excited to go back to school, and I mean, it's not great what's happening, but

01:00you have to just carry on and carry on with life and go to school.

01:04What are you most looking forward to?

01:06Playing with my friends.

01:13And so you can see there, despite the angers and frustrations, there's also a resilience.

01:18Now there are questions about what might be done to ensure these schools are safe.

01:23Already armed guards are a feature of many Jewish schools in Sydney, and have been in

01:27some instances for more than two decades, post-September 11th some of these measures

01:32were taken.

01:33What's newer is the presence of police officers.

01:36This morning, briefly during school drop-off, we saw a small number of police around the

01:40site to ensure it went off without a hitch.

01:43We also saw the local member for the region, the federal member, Matt Thistlethwaite, who's

01:48part of the Labor government, he's spoken about the idea of additional support in the

01:52way of extra police patrols coming to the site.

01:56That could happen as soon as next week, and it could also happen at other Jewish schools

02:00right around the city and state as well, Lorna.

02:03OK, Miles, so police investigations into those are continuing, but there's also this major

02:09investigation after the caravan was discovered with explosives inside.

02:15Any updates on that today?

02:17Well, Lorna, the significant developments have been around the naming of two people

02:21allegedly listed on a police search warrant.

02:24They are Tammy Farugia and Scott Marshall, who are already in police custody, charged

02:29over separate and unrelated incidents to the discovery of this caravan with significant

02:33explosives in the northwest of Sydney.

02:36Now, police have had that caravan in their custody since discovering it about 10 days

02:41or so ago, and they're still conducting their investigations.

02:44One key part of their investigation as well right now is determining how PowerGel, the

02:49significant explosives that were there, were able to be in public hands.

02:54They're typically only used on mine sites, but one mining expert has already told the

02:59ABC they've typically not been used at mine sites for some time, as long as a decade even.

03:05One significant manufacturer of PowerGel also said they hadn't made this kind of explosive

03:09for some time as well.

03:11So considering all of this, police have some key questions to answer here, and they're

03:16not alone in trying to do that.

03:18They're joined by federal police, as well as the New South Wales Crime Commission, and

03:22on top of that, intelligence officers from ASIO.

03:26There's a significant appetite to see those held responsible, or rather those who are

03:31responsible held to account for it, and police do believe still at this stage there are other

03:36people who have significant involvement in this incident who have not yet been arrested

03:41or charged.

03:42They have said, even though part of this operation was clandestine and secret, that they would

03:46update the public with significant information when it comes to hand, but did say that parts

03:51of their investigation coming to public after they'd kept it secret had compromised elements

03:56of their work.

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