Swastika symbols and racist slogans scrawled onto bus shelters and footpaths in Bondi are an act of racial hatred, the head of a Jewish organisation says.
Police are investigating a series of 15 swastikas drawn in black permanent marker on bus shelters, paths and footpaths along Campbell Parade, which stretches along the famous beachfront.
Another piece of racist graffiti - a scrawled message "not white? Not right," - is also under investigation.
"This graffiti is an act of racial hatred, it is a hatred crime. Swastikas represent one thing only and that is hatred," chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, told AAP.
"They are offensive to Jewish people everywhere and Australians everywhere."
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Police have condemned the graffiti at Bondi, which is home to a large Jewish community.
"The NSW Police Force takes crimes that are motivated by hatred or prejudice very seriously and any such crimes will not be tolerated," Eastern Suburbs Commander Superintendent Jason Box said.
Mr Alhadeff praised the police response, saying they responded quickly and had taken the matter seriously.
Reports of the offensive graffiti come a day after Mr Alhadeff joined a coalition of 35 ethnic leaders to petition the state government to strengthen NSW's hate speech laws.
"The government acknowledged the law is weak and ineffective, we are calling for the government to honour a commitment to protect everyone in NSW from incitement to violence," he said.
"We are working with the attorney-general on this matter and we are confident that working together we will achieve this most important outcome."
Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton had announced in October 2015 plans to overhaul hate speech laws so it was easier for courts to prosecute offenders.
Despite there being provisions dealing with racial vilification in the Anti-Discrimination Act, there hadn't been any prosecutions, Ms Upton said at the time.
She had flagged her desire to adopt several recommendations about changes to racial vilification laws made by a parliamentary committee in 2013.
However, a spokesperson for the minister on Thursday said she was still considering those recommendations.
"We are strongly committed to obtaining views from across the community to ensure that any reform strikes the right balance between preserving freedom of speech and protecting people from violence," the spokesperson said.
