Latest news with #VictorianJointCounter-TerrorismTeam
30-07-2025
Police arrest suspect in Melbourne synagogue arson attack
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian police say they have arrested one of three men they suspect are responsible for an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that marked a major escalation in antisemitic violence across the nation. A 21-year-old Melbourne man was arrested at a house on Wednesday on suspicion that he had set fire to the Adass Israel Synagogue in December, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said. The predawn attack 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. The suspect, who has not been named, was being questioned on Wednesday about offenses including arson, conduct endangering life and car theft, Steendam said. 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. 'This investigation remains ongoing and we anticipate there'll be further arrests,' Steendam told reporters. '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,' she added. 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 said. '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. 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. 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.
The Age
30-07-2025
- The Age
Overseas criminal suspects linked to synagogue firebombing probe
Police are examining exiled tobacco kingpin Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad as part of investigations into whether offshore criminals worked with Victorian associates to firebomb the Adass Israel Synagogue. The overseas investigations were confirmed after the Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team (JCTT) on Wednesday arrested a Werribee man, 21, as part of an ongoing investigation into the firebombing in Ripponlea on December 6, 2024. Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators were working with Australia's Five Eyes security partners to ensure 'our collective powers and capabilities are drawn upon', but would not answer questions about which countries they believed the attack's masterminds were based in. 'Our investigation is not limited to Australia. It involves exploring criminals offshore, and we suspect these criminals worked with criminal associates in Victoria to carry out the arson attack,' Barrett said. Five Eyes is a multinational intelligence-sharing network which includes Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. Barrett also said authorities were investigating links to exiled tobacco kingpin Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad. 'That is a name that has come up in our investigation, and that remains one of our ongoing lines of inquiry,' she said. Hamad was deported to his home country Iraq in July 2023. He has been a central figure in Melbourne's so-called tobacco wars and spent extended time in prison. Victoria Police alleges the 21-year-old Werribee man was one of three individuals who broke into the Ripponlea synagogue and set the fire, but would not divulge if they believed he was involved in orchestrating the attack, or if he was a low-level criminal hired to carry it out.
Boston Globe
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door
Antisemitic attacks roil Australia since 2023 A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Advertisement Jewish and Muslim organizations and hate researchers have recorded drastic spikes in hate-fueled incidents on both groups. The Australian government last year appointed special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in the community. Last December, two masked men struck the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's southeast. They caused extensive damage by spreading a liquid accelerant with brooms throughout the building before igniting it. A worshipper sustained minor burns. No charges have been laid for that attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed on antisemitism. The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia's main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically-motivated attack. Police say synagogue attack is a serious crime Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the latest synagogue fire as a serious crime. Police released a CCTV image of a suspect. Advertisement 'I'd like to make it very clear that we do recognize that these crimes are disgusting and abhorrent. But at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident,' Dunstan told reporters. 'In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly,' she added. A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences. The synagogue's president, Danny Segal, called for the wider Australian community to stand with his congregation. 'We're here to be in peace, you know, we're here for everybody to live together and we've got a fresh start in Australia, such a beautiful country, and what they're doing is just not fair and not right, and as Australians, we should stand up and everybody should stand up,' Segal told reporters. Protesters harass diners in Israeli-owned restaurant Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A Miznon restaurant window was broken. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for hindering police. Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said diners were terrorized as the group chanted 'Death to the IDF,' referring to the Israel Defense Forces. 'Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,' Abramovich said. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece condemned both the synagogue and restaurant incidents. 'These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking,' Reece said. 'All of us as a community need to stand up against it.' Advertisement Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said both incidents were designed to 'traumatize Jewish families.' 'Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism,' she said in a statement.
