Over the past three months, schools have been spray-painted with slurs, synagogues have been firebombed or defaced with swastikas and, it was revealed on Wednesday, an explosives-laden caravan was found on Sydney's outskirts with a note containing the addresses of Jewish institutions.
All this has marred Australia's reputation in the eyes of the world, according to Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin.
"People are asking me what on earth is happening in Australia," he told ABC radio on Friday.
"We have a hard-earned reputation as being a harmonious and peaceful, multicultural society but that reputation is now shredded."
Alex Ryvchin fears Australia's reputation for peace and harmony has been shredded. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
Authorities have theorised that foreign actors could be behind some of the recent incidents.
Mr Ryvchin, whose former home was the target of an arson and graffiti attack in mid-January, believes this could be true after he reviewed security footage of the incident.
"The way they doused the street with gasoline, they way they lit it, creating a fuse - these weren't amateurs," he said.
Some have called for Jewish schools and preschools to be placed under police guard at all hours, and other members community are worried about attending places of worship, but many will not let fear take hold.
Rabbi Zalman Goldstein, who heads the Maroubra Synagogue in eastern Sydney, said his congregation was feeling defiant.
"The Jewish community is saddened to see this happening in Australia and at the same time, the community is very strong and resilient - we don't get deterred or intimidated by bullies," he told AAP.
"Our strength comes from thousands of years of Jewish perseverance and survival."
The Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed in December. (Yumi Rosenbaum/AAP PHOTOS)
Former coalition treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who is Jewish, said he was personally "cautious and extra vigilant" after receiving "very serious threats" that he had referred to federal police.
He said anti-Semitism had gained a foothold in Australia and from the beginning the prime minister "should have set red lines that were not to be crossed" to make sure culprits were arrested, convicted and punished.
The federal coalition is pushing the government to introduce mandatory jail time for those who commit terror attacks when parliament resumes, despite concerns this could breach Australia's international law obligations or undermine the judiciary.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his priority was to keep Australians safe.
"I want perpetrators of anti-Semitism to be hunted down and to be locked up," he told reporters in Melbourne.
A massive, multi-agency probe that includes counter-terrorism investigators was launched when the caravan packed with explosives was discovered.
There was no detonator found but notes containing addresses of Jewish targets were also in the caravan.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the investigation was at a "delicate stage" with officers going through physical evidence at the crime scene, while the state's premier Chris Minns described the find as a "potential terrorist event".
A caravan laden with explosives was found on a road bend on Sydney's outskirts. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
"I'm not a prophet but it's a great sign that police are finding more success and stopping them (perpetrators) in their tracks," Rabbi Goldstein said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the foiled attack was another "intolerable" addition to a growing list of hate crimes.
"The epidemic of anti-Semitism is spreading in Australia almost unchecked," he posted on X.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said in a statement that, while he understood community fears and frustrations, the threat level would remain the same noting the designation of probable was the same as it was at the height of the Islamic State.
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