Jewish students in Sydney returned to school on Friday with a heightened security presence, days after police said they foiled a planned antisemitic attack in the city using a trailer filled with explosives.

Australian authorities say they’ve foiled a potential “mass casualty” attack with the discovery of a trailer packed with explosives in northwest Sydney, and “an indication” it was to be used against targets in the Jewish community following a spate of antisemitic incidents.

Australia was once viewed as a multicultural melting pot but a string of attacks against its Jewish community has cast doubt over this perception.

Australia has been grappling with a spate of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war in late 2023.