New South Wales Police are investigating Islamophobic graffiti found on a corner store in western Sydney on Friday evening.
The words “Fuck Arabs” have been graffitied onto the Al Eman Supermarket in Wiley Park.
Under that, were the words “Israel > Palestine”.
Al Eman Supermarket is a corner store popular with locals and stocks many traditional Lebanese items.
According to the most recent census, more than 50% of Wiley Park’s population is Muslim, with large Lebanese and Bangladeshi communities.
NSW Police said it took “hate crimes seriously”.
“It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone,” the force said in a statement.
“The NSW police force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime of witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or through triple zero (000).”
A neighbour who came across the graffiti and asked to be anonymous told the Guardian the incident was “disturbing” and that locals were increasingly fearful.
“Many of us in the community are very disturbed and concerned about these increasing acts of hate and violence towards the Arab and Muslim community.
“Many of us are feeling increasingly unsafe walking the streets in fear of being attacked especially after the recent incident involving a spiritual leader who was almost run down”
Secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association, Gamel Kheir, condemned the grafitti, as well as the “impotence” of authorities to prevent further instances of hateful incidents.
“The LMA condemns the ongoing racist islamophobic graffiti. The impotence of government and media to call out the rising tide of Islamophobia has only highlighted the hypocrisy of these institutions stances on treating and calling out antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
“The deafening silence of many of our leaders only emboldens the racist elements in our society.”
