Hate Speech Graffiti on Big Banana

0:00Vandals hit the big banana, that giant roadside icon in Cobb's harbor, New South Wales, over Easter weekend. Early Sunday morning, someone sprayed anti-Israel graffiti, including the words, F Israel, and a Palestinian flag image right on its side. Cobb's cleaned it off quick, but now NSW police are treating it as hate speech under fresh laws. These rules got beefed up last December after the Mondai terror attack that killed 15 folks during a Hanukkah event. The laws cover public stuff, like graffiti, meant to stir up hate, and make reasonable people feel targeted, or scared. Penalties hit hard up to two years in prison, or an $11,000 fine for offenders. Local police boss, Superintendent Joanne Schultz, called it suspected hate speech at minimum, or just straight up graffiti damage. The big bananas manager thinks it might be the same crew from a prior hit, but he's staying quiet out of retaliation fears. Meanwhile, the NSW police ministers slammed it as appalling anti-Semitism that won't

1:01fly in the community. Cobb's warned that sharing those graffiti picks online could drag you into it too, since the laws are pretty broad. They beefed up federal hate speech rules in January as well, giving more power against hate groups. Police are calling for dashcam footage, or witnesses from 1am to 4am Sunday. Stay vigilant folks, this is how they push back on hate in real time. That's the story for today, Sydney News Today, driven by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.