Worshipers were forced to flee a synagogue in Australia after it was set on fire in what the prime minister condemned as an “act of hate”.
Firefighters were called to the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne just after 04:00 local time on Friday (17:00 GMT on Thursday) and arrived to find the building completely ablaze.
Community leaders told local media that “several people” were inside during morning prayers and they said they saw fire bombs being thrown. One person was injured and the fire caused extensive damage.
Police said they believed the fire was set deliberately but remained “open” about the motive.
In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident in Ripponlea, in the city’s southeast, was “clearly intended to create fear in the community”.
“Violence, threats and vandalism in places of worship are an outrage,” he wrote.
“I have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.”
He added that he had been briefed by the Australian Federal Police, which would assist the Victorian government.
“Those involved must be arrested and face the full punishment of the law.”
Victoria Police said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be determined and an arson chemist would attend the scene.
However, Det Insp Chris Murray said a witness told them two masked people appeared to have dispersed an accelerant inside the building.
He added: “We believe it was an intentional act. We believe it was targeted.” “What we don’t know is why.”
He urged anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who has CCTV or dash cam footage from the local area to contact police.
Synagogue board member Benjamin Klein told The Age newspaper that people inside “heard banging on doors and windows, and some liquid got through and caught fire”.
“The whole thing happened pretty quickly,” he said.
A man who was inside at the time, Yumi Friedman, added that a window was smashed causing “glass to fly”.
Mr. Friedman told reporters that his hand was burned on the door handle when he tried to return to the synagogue to put out the fire.
Inspector Murray – who was confronted by an angry worshiper while updating the press – said police would commit significant resources to the investigation and increase patrols around the area.
“We will do our best to ensure that they can return to their local synagogues, as they should, doing what is absolutely Australian – being able to worship without scared.”
Jewish community leaders said they believed the attack was an escalation of a recent increase in anti-Semitism recorded in Australia.
Chairman of the Executive Council of Australian Jews Daniel Aghion said: “No one in the Jewish community is surprised. We knew this would happen.”
