Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Wednesday that the Australian government must do more to protect members of the Jewish community, after police in Sydney thwarted a terrorist attack on a local synagogue. “The attempted antisemitic terror attack at a synagogue in Sydney is intolerable. This joins a long list of antisemitic attacks in Australia, including setting fire to a childcare center in Sydney, firebombing a synagogue in Melbourne, and many other antisemitic attacks,” said Sa’ar. “The epidemic of antisemitism is spreading in Australia almost unchecked. We expect the Australian government to do more to stop this disease!” he added. Sa’ar’s comments came after Sydney police reported that a caravan laden with enough explosives to create a 40-meter blast wave had been found in Sydney’s north-west suburb, with notes suggesting a Jewish synagogue could be a target. Australia has seen a sharp rise in attacks on its Jewish community in recent weeks. In early December, the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed, in an incident that is being treated as an act of terrorism. Days later, a car was set on fire , and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population. In another incident, the words "F— the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney. In early January, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Related articles: Midwife faces backlash for reporting antisemitic nurses Sydney hospital workers threaten to kill Israelis Australia introduces tough anti-hate crime laws Man arrested for throwing bacon in antisemitic hate crime A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall. In another incident, a home in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, previously owned by Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, was vandalized .