Nicholas James Alexander admitted orchestrating firebombings and attacks across Sydney in January 2025.
He hired others to firebomb a childcare centre in Maroubra and torch cars at the former home of senior Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin.
Anti-Semitic slurs and swastikas were also painted on cars and a synagogue.
The 32-year-old said he acted on the instructions of unknown people overseas and was not motivated by racial hatred.
"I don't have any ill will towards the Jewish community," Alexander wrote in a letter to Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.
"My acts, which I took responsibility for, are completely financially motivated."
A drug problem propelled him into debt and he felt like he had no other choice except to do as he was directed, he said.
"My actions were not intended to hurt anyone or to push an agenda on my behalf. I was simply trying to free myself from the trap I found myself in," he wrote.
He pleaded guilty to knowingly directing a criminal group and six counts of being an accessory before the fact to property destruction.
He organised for stolen cars to be used in the attacks, explained how to make and use Molotov cocktails, arranged for handguns to be passed on, and co-ordinated drop-off points.
While accepting he was remorseful and not motivated by race, magistrate Jennifer Atkinson rejected his reasons for the offending.
His ownership of a Porsche implied he was not without financial resources, she noted.
Alexander was motivated by financial reward and knew the offences would create fear in the Australian Jewish community and beyond, the magistrate found.
The series of attacks was a deliberate tactic to divide Australian Arabs and Jewish communities to further the overseas masterminds' aims, Ms Atkinson said.
"The immense distress already being experienced in the Jewish community was compounded day by day throughout the month of January," she said.
"These events were also an attack on Australian society generally, by persons from outside our community. They were intended to divide our community."
He played a crucial role for the overseas meddlers, who would have no way of influencing events in Australia without people like Alexander willing to enact their plans.
Alexander did not react as he was jailed for five years.
He will be eligible for parole in mid-2028.
The head sentence is the highest term available to a NSW magistrate for any set of offences.
Mr Ryvchin, whose former home was defaced in the attacks, said he believed the sentence was appropriate.
"This man's decision to target a childcare centre and a family home made people fear for their lives and the safety of their children," the Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive said.
"They made Jewish Australians question their place in this country and change patterns of behaviour between Jews and non-Jews."
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