An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured.
Police said that the arsonist was seen walking through a nearby park before entering the grounds of the synagogue.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said the incident and the previous attack were designed to “traumatize Jewish families.”
“These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking,” Reece said.
Victoria Police said its detectives are investigating if there are any links between the restaurant incident and the synagogue fire.
Seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled fire that injured a worshipper, an arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue on Friday, forcing the congregation to evacuate again.
At approximately 8 p.m., a man doused the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation’s downtown double front doors and set it on fire. M. Victoria Police stated in a press statement on Saturday. About 20 worshippers were eating together on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, when they were evacuated through a back door. According to the police, nobody was hurt.
According to authorities, firefighters put out the fire, which was limited to the front entrance. Pictures show that the front doors are damaged.
The arsonist reportedly entered the synagogue’s grounds after strolling through a nearby park, according to the police. He fled the scene on foot after starting the fire, according to the police. He hasn’t been named.
The purpose of the incident and the prior attack, according to Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan, was to “traumatize Jewish families.”. “.
“Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism,” she declared in a statement.
Zorka Dunstan, acting Victoria Police Commander, called the fire a serious crime. Police said in a news release on Saturday that the investigation is being led by the department’s Counter Terrorism Security Investigation Unit, but the case “has not been deemed a terrorism incident.”. “..”.
We do acknowledge that these crimes are reprehensible and disgusting, and I want to be clear about that. However, we are not yet classifying this as a terrorist incident,” Dunstan informed reporters.
“We will look at the ideology and intent of the person or people involved during our investigation to see if this is indeed terrorism. We are currently classifying it as a serious criminal incident and taking appropriate action,” she continued.
A declaration of terrorism allows for additional resources to be used in the investigation and may lead to charges with longer jail terms.
The president of the synagogue, Danny Segal, urged the Australian community at large to support his congregation.
Segal told reporters, “As Australians, we should stand up and everyone should stand up. We’re here to be in peace, you know, we’re here for everybody to live together and we’ve got a fresh start in Australia, such a beautiful country, and what they’re doing is just not fair and not right.”.
Police say they want to talk to a man they saw in the area.
Victoria Police have made public a CCTV image of a man they claim they would like to talk to regarding the incident. The man was not listed as a suspect by them.
The unnamed man is described as having long hair and a beard, and he is in his mid-30s. He had on black pants, a black beanie, and a sweater that was either dark blue or black. He is seen carrying a sizable black bag in the CCTV image.
In an Israeli-owned restaurant, protesters harass patrons.
Around 20 masked protesters harassed patrons of an Israeli-owned restaurant in downtown Melbourne on Friday night. The window of a Miznon restaurant was broken. Police arrested a 28-year-old woman for obstructing their efforts.
“Death to the IDF,” which refers to the Israel Defense Forces, was chanted by the group, frightening the diners, according to Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission and a prominent opponent of antisemitism in Australia.
“Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,” Abramovich stated.
Both the restaurant and synagogue incidents were denounced by Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece.
“These criminal acts against an Israeli business and a synagogue in Melbourne are absolutely shocking,” Reece stated. “We must all resist it as a community. “.
“Yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia,” noted Israeli deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel in a statement on X, in response to the attacks.
“Israel is on your side,” Haskel continued.
Detectives from Victoria Police said they are looking into any connections between the synagogue fire and the restaurant incident. Additionally, they are looking into an “arson attack and criminal damage” to a company in the Melbourne suburb of Greensborough.
Australia is racked by antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks.
Since October, Australia has been rocked by a wave of antisemitic attacks. Hamas’ attack on Israel on July 7, 2023, set off the Gaza War.
Hate researchers and organizations for Muslims and Jews have noted sharp increases in hate crimes against both groups. In order to fight Islamophobia and antisemitism in the community, the Australian government designated special envoys last year.
In the southeast of Melbourne, two masked men attacked the Adass Israel Synagogue last December. They used brooms to spread a liquid accelerant throughout the building before setting it on fire, causing significant damage. A worshipper was slightly burned.
That attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attributed to antisemitism, has not resulted in any charges.
The fire was probably a politically motivated attack, according to the Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which consists of Victoria State Police, Federal Police, and Australia’s primary domestic spy agency.
