‘Iran is da bomb': Vandals target synagogue
An iconic Melbourne religious institution has been vandalised twice in a day.
The heritage-listed Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue was targeted by vandals on Sunday.
One piece of graffiti read 'Iran is da bomb' inscribed in a mushroom cloud, alongside another piece of vandalism that said 'free Palestine'.
'It is believed a wall of the Toorak Road premises was graffitied by an unknown person sometime on Sunday afternoon,' a police spokesman said.
'That was removed but unknown offenders again graffitied the building sometime on Sunday evening.' The graffiti was scrawled soon after US bombs fell on Iran. Supplied Credit: Supplied
The original graffitied message also said 'free Palestine'.
'There is absolutely no place at all in our society for anti-Semitic or hate-based symbols and behaviour,' the police spokesman said.
Police want anyone with information to come forward.
Rabbi Shlomo Nathanson told the Herald Sun: 'We're just frustrated and exhausted by all of this and we hope that is shared by members outside Jewish community'.
'We feel this to be an attack on the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and it is unacceptable.
'While this is an offence to the Jewish community, it is our hope that people say 'not on my watch, not in my Australia',' the Rabbi said. A pro-Palestine message was graffitied on the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on Sunday. Supplied Credit: Supplied
The Premier labelled the graffiti 'disgraceful' and 'senseless'.
'It is just so vitally important that we do not allow conflict and violence overseas to divide us here in Melbourne and Victoria,' Jacinta Allan said.
The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation is a monumental temple on the high-traffic corner of Toorak Road and St Kilda Road, about 2km south of the CBD.
The building was constructed between 1928 and 1930. The synagogue is heritage-listed for its historical, aesthetic and social significance.
The graffiti referencing Iran was written about 12 hours after the US bombed Iranian facilities, which are suspected of being used to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
26 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Did trucks remove nuclear assets before the US struck Iranian sites?
In an already fraying global world order, the US attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities have heightened fears of a potentially cataclysmic descent into further violence. So far analysts and experts are struggling to grasp the full implications of the attacks. There remain far more unknowns than knowns. Here are some of the key questions. Were Iran's nuclear sites obliterated? We don't know. Announcing the strikes, US president Donald Trump said Iranian nuclear enrichment capacity had been 'completely and totally obliterated', but at a Pentagon briefing held later, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's 'nuclear ambitions' had been obliterated. Moments later Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine said damage assessments would take some time. 'Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.' The world's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has released a statement saying that at Iran's main location for enriching uranium to 60 per cent, craters were visible that were consistent with the US statement. 'At this time, no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordow,' it said. The IAEA said other buildings were hit at the Esfahan nuclear site, including some related to the uranium conversion process, and that entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appeared to have been hit. At a third site, the Natanz enrichment site, the fuel enrichment plant had been hit again. The US confirmed that it used ground-penetrating munitions. The IAEA said Iran had informed it there had been no increase in off-site radiation levels at any of the three sites.
The Age
31 minutes ago
- The Age
Did trucks remove nuclear assets before the US struck Iranian sites?
In an already fraying global world order, the US attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities have heightened fears of a potentially cataclysmic descent into further violence. So far analysts and experts are struggling to grasp the full implications of the attacks. There remain far more unknowns than knowns. Here are some of the key questions. Were Iran's nuclear sites obliterated? We don't know. Announcing the strikes, US president Donald Trump said Iranian nuclear enrichment capacity had been 'completely and totally obliterated', but at a Pentagon briefing held later, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's 'nuclear ambitions' had been obliterated. Moments later Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine said damage assessments would take some time. 'Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.' The world's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has released a statement saying that at Iran's main location for enriching uranium to 60 per cent, craters were visible that were consistent with the US statement. 'At this time, no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordow,' it said. The IAEA said other buildings were hit at the Esfahan nuclear site, including some related to the uranium conversion process, and that entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appeared to have been hit. At a third site, the Natanz enrichment site, the fuel enrichment plant had been hit again. The US confirmed that it used ground-penetrating munitions. The IAEA said Iran had informed it there had been no increase in off-site radiation levels at any of the three sites.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
Iran vows retaliation for US strikes as Israel keeps up attacks
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Tehran threatened on Monday to inflict "serious" damage in retaliation for US strikes on the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities, as the Iran-Israel war entered its 11th day despite calls for de-escalation. Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting several blasts were heard over Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran as well as "six Iranian regime airports" across the country, destroying fighter jets and helicopters. President Donald Trump said US warplanes used "bunker buster" bombs to target sites in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, boasting the strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities. Other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran's nuclear programme, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat. Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US "hostile act", following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would "pave the way for the extension of war in the region". "The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations," he warned. Global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday. China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout. Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, condemned the US strikes and called for calm. Iran's foreign ministry accused Washington of betraying diplomacy. "Future generations will not forget that the Iranians were in the middle of a diplomatic process with a country that is now at war with us," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Britain, France and Germany called on Iran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region". As the world awaited Iran's response, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the bombing campaign Israel launched on June 13 "a big mistake". - 'Regime change' - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's oil supply. With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad. In central Tehran on Sunday, protesters waved flags and chanted slogans against US and Israeli attacks. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh said she was "truly shocked" by the strikes. "Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she told AFP. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US strikes revealed Washington was "behind" Israel's campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response. After the Pentagon stressed the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" Hours later he doubled down on emphasising the success of his strikes. "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!" Trump wrote, without sharing the images he was referencing. At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country's bombardments would "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. "We are very, very close to completing them," he said. - 'Blow up' - Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage. "Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place," he added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States of deciding to "blow up" nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago. On Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution with other Security Council members that calls for an "immediate ceasefire" in Iran. burs-ami/dv Originally published as Iran vows retaliation for US strikes as Israel keeps up attacks
