A firebomb attack on a Melbourne synagogue has resulted in major investigations by police and condemnation from politicians, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelling the incident as a terrorist attack in his “personal view”.
In the early hours of Friday morning, the Adass Israel Synagogue in the south Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea caught ablaze. The fire took an hour to get under control, and police have believe it was deliberately lit.
As many as 17 firetrucks and 60 firefighters were called to the fire which engulfed the building. The damage to the synagogue is believed to be significant, destroying millions of dollars worth of property in the form of religious texts inside the building.
Nobody was killed by the fire. However, one individual inside the building received injuries to his hands.
Though investigations on the cause of the inferno are still ongoing, and no arrests have been made, politicians and advocates have pushed to class the attack as an act of terrorism.
Shortly after news of the incident caught national attention, Albanese released a statement to condemn the attack, saying he has “zero tolerance for antisemitism“. The next day he called the attack “un-Australian”, and shared his solidarity with the Jewish community.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 7, 2024
Today in a press conference, Albanese also declared that he believed the arson attack qualifies as an act of terrorism against the Jewish community.
“If you want my personal view: quite clearly, terrorism is something that is aimed at creating fear in the community,” Albanese said.
“The atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community. Therefore, from my personal perspective, it certainly fulfils that definition of terrorism.”
The Prime Minister also clarified that the official designation of this event as a terrorist act must require a technical process, which will take place on Tuesday.
However, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus emphasised that it is up to the federal police to apply the official definition to the incident.
“What the Prime Minister said yesterday was right, that this is an event that has struck fear into the hearts of Australians, and particularly into the hearts of the Melbourne Jewish community,” Dreyfus said.
“But as to the formal technical descriptions, let’s leave that to police, because they’re the ones that are conducting the investigation.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said that if his party wins the next election, he will set up a “taskforce” to fight antisemitism in Australia.
In his outline, the former defence minister said the taskforce would work to find visa holders involved in antisemitic acts and have them deported. There is currently no evidence implying the individual(s) behind the synagogue firebombing were visa holders.
Over the weekend, Albanese committed $32.5 million to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) to enhance security at Jewish community sites like synagogues and schools.
“This grant of $32.5 million will enable the community to provide support and security on the basis of priorities established by the community themselves,” said the PM.
Lead Image: Getty/Nine
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