Latest news with #MelbourneSynagogue
Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Australia synagogue fire: Police charge man over alleged arson
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation's Jewish community. There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state. Australia has experienced several anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Counterterrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighbouring New South Wales, charging him with offences including criminal damage by fire, police said. READ MORE East Melbourne Synagogue in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images 'The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,' police said in a statement. The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported. Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police. The restaurant was extensively damaged, said the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia's Jews. It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne's oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner. Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog went on X to 'condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne's historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together'. 'This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,' Mr Herzog said. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu described the incidents as 'severe hate crimes' that he viewed 'with utmost gravity'. 'The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,' Mr Netanyahu said on X. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law's full force. 'My government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,' Mr Albanese posted on X. Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by anti-Semitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organised crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives to divert police resources, police said in March. – Reuters
RNZ News
06-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Australia police charge man over alleged arson on Melbourne synagogue
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Photo: ABC / Rachel Clayton Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation's Jewish community. There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state. Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Counterterrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighbouring New South Wales, charging him with offences including criminal damage by fire, police said. The man, whom authorities have not identified, was due to face court on Sunday. "The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene," police said in a statement. Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police. The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia's Jews. It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne's oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner. Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to "condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne's historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together". "This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last," Herzog said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law's full force. "My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort," Albanese posted on X. Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organised crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March. - Reuters
The Age
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
‘It's un-Australian': Rabbi says the hate must stop after graffiti attack on heritage-listed synagogue
Rabbi Shlomo Nathanson has described a graffiti attack on the historic Melbourne Synagogue on Sunday as 'un-Australian'. Vandals used red paint to scrawl 'Free Palestine' and 'Iran is Da Bomb', set inside the outline of a nuclear mushroom cloud, on the heritage-listed synagogue in the early afternoon. There were no religious services or activities at the synagogue at the time. The attacks were reported to police, and cleaners using special chemicals were able to remove most of the graffiti from the building near the corner of Toorak and St Kilda roads just south of the inner city. The attack came only hours after news broke that the US had dropped bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities, but Nathanson urged those people angry about the current situation in the Middle East to not take it out on fellow Australians like those of his Melbourne Hebrew Congregation. 'Tensions are understandably very high today, but an act like this on the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation is just unacceptable,' Nathanson told this masthead on Sunday evening. 'It's the place of worship and it has been since 1841. It's one of the oldest congregations in mainland Australia. Over which time, it has welcomed people from all faiths.' Nathanson said police were called and security footage was passed on to them. He stressed that the synagogue would continue to serve its broad community of worshippers. 'There's going to be a wide variety of opinions as to the politics in the Middle East and where things stand from one extreme to the other, but to translate that into violent acts and antisemitism and criminal activity here in Australia is un-Australian,' Nathanson said.
