<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A man who allegedly started a fire at a synagogue was not motivated by hatred or religious beliefs but instead was following instructions for a payday, a court has been told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Adam Edward Moule, 34, was arrested over an attack on Newtown Synagogue in Sydney's Inner West, and antisemitic graffiti sprayed in Queens Park in the city's east in January.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He and neighbour Leon Emmanuel Sofilas allegedly left a van containing fire extinguishers filled with red paint to be collected by people who used them to spray paint "f--- Jews" on property in Queens Park.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-albanese-china-trip-prime-minister-to-meet-with-xi-jinping/6fa824e0-8eaf-4487-8476-3772a8ad4eb6" target="_blank"><strong><span>$120 billion export on the table for Albanese's China visit</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moule then allegedly set a small fire at the synagogue, the boundary wall of which Sofilas allegedly defaced with nearly a dozen swastikas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Moule didn't know the fire extinguishers would be used for offensive slogans or what was being spraypainted, the NSW Supreme Court was told today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moule is not accused of acting out of religious hatred or in furtherance of any ideology or discriminatory belief.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-synagogue-arson-suspect-motivated-by-cash-not-hatred/db9c44a8-0205-4665-8ec3-abeba68daf81" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, it's alleged he was following instructions issued by Sofilas, who in turn claims he was receiving directions from another man.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The prosecutor likened Moule's alleged offending to a person receiving directions through service platforms like Uber or Airtasker.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everything was kept very separate and it was passed down (through) distinct groups of people," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The organisers allegedly wanted police to believe they had valuable information which could be exchanged for an affidavit of assistance in serious drug matters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/small-plane-crashes-london-southend-airport/9c41bd43-ae0f-4b55-992f-f3cb007fb99f" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Fireball' after plane crashes at London airport</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But there was a possibility Moule would commit further offences if he was released on bail ahead of his anticipated guilty pleas later in July, the prosecutor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moule's lawyer Mark Klees argued he had already spent nearly six months in custody on remand and wouldn't be at liberty for long before being sentenced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Refusing bail could have "drastic consequences" including Moule possibly losing his home and winding up homeless, Klees said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-two-new-public-holidays-when-are-they/11caa855-dcd5-43c6-baae-461cd0dbe189" target="_blank"><strong><span>One Aussie state looks to add two new public holidays</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Desmond Fagan said the offending was "of a very low order" considering Moule's lack of initiation and the "almost negligible property damage" caused by the fire, but it was more serious because he allegedly knew he was at a synagogue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starting a fire outside a place of worship conveyed a threat to the congregation and had "the capacity to induce apprehension in them of community hostility or even violence", the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He granted Moule bail under strict conditions including daily reporting to police, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and abiding by a nightly curfew.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/jeffrey-epstein-investigation-donald-trump-defends-pam-bondi-amid-maga-fallout-over-her-handling-of-case/df507d36-2104-435f-be54-22d4297271d4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump attacks his own 'selfish' MAGA base over Epstein memo</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moule has also been charged with growing 15 cannabis plants and possessing five stolen debit cards after police raided his home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He is expected to enter pleas when he returns to court.</span></div></div>