SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police said it believed a fire at a synagogue in Melbourne early morning on Friday was deliberately lit by two possible perpetrators wearing masks, injuring one person and significantly damaging the building.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack and said there should be no place for anti-Semitism in Australia.
“This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage. This attack has risked lives and is clearly aimed at creating fear in the community,” Albanese said in a statement.
Counter-terrorism police will liaise with the Victoria state police on the investigation, Albanese said.
The Victoria state police said a worshipper who reached the Adass Israel synagogue for morning prayers saw two persons who appeared to be spreading accelerant inside the synagogue.
“We believe it was deliberate. We believe it has been targeted. What we don’t know is why and we’ll get to the why,” Detective Inspector Chris Murray told reporters.
Dozens of firefighters and trucks rushed to the synagogue in Melbourne’s southern suburb of Ripponlea at 4:00 a.m. (1700 GMT, Thursday) to contain the fire.
The Australian Jewish Association said it was “outraged but not at all surprised” by the attack and that the Jewish community has felt abandoned under the incumbent government.
Albanese’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the association’s statement.
Australia has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents since Israel retaliated against an attack by militant Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 with an assault on Gaza that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Comments