A synagogue in Melbourne, Australia was set on fire, while worshippers were offering their morning prayers on Friday. The incident that occurred at 4 am (local time) injured one person. Firefighters were called to Adass Israel synagogue where they found a fully ablaze building.
According to the BBC report, community leaders said that a “few people” were inside when firebombs were thrown at the building. The attack led to one person being injured and it caused extensive damage to the building.
The police are looking for two masked people who were seen spreading accelerant however, the said they are keeping an “open mind” regarding the motive.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident was “clearly aimed at creating fear in the community”.
“This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage,” he wrote.
“I have zero tolerance for antisemitism.”
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 5, 2024
He was briefed by the Australian Federal Police, who are going to provide additional support to authorities in Victoria. “The people involved must be caught and face the full force of the law.”
According to BBC, Detective Inspector Chris Murray said a witness told the police that two masked people likely spread the accelerant inside the building. He further appealed to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or may have dashcam or CCTV footage from the surrounding area to contact the police.
A board member of the synagogue Benjamin Klein, speaking to national broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said, there was banging on the door following which “some liquid was thrown” and the building was set alight. “The few people inside the synagogue ran outside the back door. One of them got burned”, he said.
A man who was inside at the time, Yumi Friedman, added that a window had been smashed, sending “glass flying”. Friedman told reporters his hand was burned on a door knob when he tried to return to the synagogue to fight the blaze.
Meanwhile, Jewish community leaders said that the attack was an escalation of the growing antisemitism in Australia. Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said, that the Jewish community knew it was coming and that nobody is surprised.
