Arrest made in December 2024 Melbourne synagogue arson attack

CBS News

2 days ago

One of the three men suspected of an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue last year was arrested, police said Wednesday.
A 21-year-old Melbourne man, who was not identified, was arrested at a house on suspicion he had set the fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in December, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said.
The predawn attack on Dec. 6, 2024, destroyed the synagogue and left a worshipper with minor burns.
The arrest is a major breakthrough for investigators in the Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team that is treating the attack as politically motivated.
The team involves Victoria state and federal police, as well as Australia's main domestic spy agency. More than 220 law enforcement officers have devoted more than 50,000 hours to the investigation.
"Today's arrest is a demonstration of our ongoing efforts to hold those involved to account," Steendam said in a statement announcing the arrest. "We now have charged two people as part of this investigation and I expect there will be more to come."
Two weeks ago, a 20-year-old man was charged with stealing the car used in the synagogue attack. But that suspect has not been accused of being one of the masked men who used brooms to spread a liquid accelerant across the floor of the synagogue before igniting it.
An arson conviction carries a potential maximum of 15 years in prison, while the other two offenses are each punishable by 10 years imprisonment. The suspect has yet to be charged.
"I want to reassure Victorians, particularly those in the Jewish community, that we remain relentless in our pursuit in finding all those responsible for this crime and holding them to account," Steendam told reporters.
Police suspect offshore criminals had worked with associates in Victoria to orchestrate the attack, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
"The motivation is still being assessed," Barrett told reporters.
"We are … working closely with our Five Eyes partners and international partners to ensure our collective powers and capabilities are drawn upon to help bring those responsible to justice," she added. Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing partnership that includes Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
Barrett declined to say who the offshore suspects were or identify the countries they were operating in.
"This crime was despicable as it was dangerous, and it is important to acknowledge that this was not just an arson on a synagogue," she added in a statement. "The effect of this crime has rippled through a community that continues to be targeted by criminals. We will not stand for this."
A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. The synagogue attack is the only incident that has been classified as an act of terrorism, a designation that increases the resources available to the investigation.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke welcomed the arrest in connection with what he described as a "hate crime."
Burke noted that his government had promised 30 million Australian dollars ($20 million) to rebuild the synagogue.
"This arrest cannot undo the pain and fear that it (arson) caused, but it does send the strongest message that this kind of hate and violence has no place in Australia," Burke told Parliament.
"This attack was not simply an attack on Jewish Australians; an attack on a synagogue is an attack on Australia and is treated as such," he added.
Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the main advocate for the nation's Jewish community, hoped more arrests would be made and that the masterminds of the crime would be quickly brought to justice.
"Only then will a deterrent be established against this sort of chilling behavior," Aghion said.
Earlier this month, an arsonist set fire to the door of another synagogue in Melbourne, dousing the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and setting it alight. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door, police said. No one was injured.