Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – 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.

A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., a police statement said on Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said.

Fire fighters extinguished the blaze which was contained to the front entrance, police said.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said both incidents were designed 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 said in a statement.

A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Jewish and Muslim organizations and hate researchers have recorded drastic spikes in hate-fueled incidents on both groups. The Australian government last year appointed special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in the community.

Last December, two masked men struck the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s southeast. They caused extensive damage by spreading a liquid accelerant with brooms throughout the building before igniting it. A worshipper sustained minor burns.

No charges have been laid for that attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed on antisemitism.

The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia’s main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically-motivated attack.

Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the latest synagogue fire as a serious crime. Police released a CCTV image of a suspect.

“I’d like to make it very clear that we do recognize that these crimes are disgusting and abhorrent. But at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident,” Dunstan told reporters.

“In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly,” she added.

A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences.

The synagogue’s president, Danny Segal, called for the wider Australian community to stand with his congregation.

“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, and as Australians, we should stand up and everybody should stand up,” Segal told reporters.

Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A Miznon restaurant window was broken. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for hindering police.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said diners were terrorized as the group chanted “Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

“Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,” Abramovich said.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece condemned both the synagogue and restaurant incidents.

“These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking,” Reece said. “All of us as a community need to stand up against it.”

Israel’s deputy foreign minister condemned the attacks, saying it was “yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia,” in a statement on X.

Sharren Haskel expressed her full solidarity with the Jewish community in Melbourne, “Israel stands with you,” she said in the statement.