Children and their families were among those forced to evacuate a synagogue targeted by arsonists, just as protesters descended on a nearby Israeli restaurant shouting “offensive chants.”
A group of about 20 people had to flee when a man doused the front of the temple in a flammable liquid and set it alight about 8 p.m. on Friday, Victoria Police said.
East Melbourne Synagogue President Danny Segal and his wife Jenny were among those inside enjoying Shabbat dinner at the time.
“Somebody saw smoke coming and some passers-by rang the bell and said there’s something going on,” he told reporters on Saturday morning.
Everyone inside evacuated safely and firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
Segal said he was worried about what might have happened had the attacker gotten inside.
He said the incident frightened the children.
“They were pretty scared because they felt our fear and our shock,” he said.
Investigators are still working to establish the motivation and circumstances surrounding the fire.
“There is absolutely no place in our society for anti-Semitic or hate-based behaviour,” a police spokesperson said.
The synagogue, one of Australia’s oldest, is close to Victoria’s Parliament in the heart of the city.
Incident With Diners
A short time later, protesters gathered outside Israeli restaurant Miznon on nearby Hardware Lane.Police said about 20 of them shouted “offensive chants” and were directed to leave the area.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said anti-Semitic terror had returned as a mob chanted “death to the IDF,” which stands for Israel Defence Forces.
“These events are a severe escalation directed towards our community and clear evidence that the anti-Semitism crisis is not only continuing but getting worse,” Ryvchin said.
Anti-Defamation Commission Chair Dvir Abramovich said the diners were terrorised.
“Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews,” he said.
One person was arrested for hindering police and several others were spoken to by investigators.
The force said it supported the right of Victorians to protest peacefully but would not tolerate “anti-social and violent behaviour.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said that the attack happened on Shabbat, which made it more abhorrent.
“This is disgraceful behaviour by a pack of cowards,” she said.
Opposition frontbencher David Southwick called for greater action to stop people filled with hate who “hijack our streets.”
“Enough talk. The perpetrators and organisers must be found and brought to justice,” he said.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece visited the synagogue and spoke with senior members on Saturday morning.
He condemned the events and said Melbourne was a city of peace and tolerance despite the terrible events.
“Nothing that we are doing here in Melbourne is going to have any impact on the terrible events in Israel and Gaza and so we do need to ask ourselves, how do we keep ourselves together as a community?” he said.
The incidents come seven months after a devastating fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue at Ripponlea, in the city’s south.
Two of the synagogue’s three buildings were destroyed in the early morning blaze, which also forced members of the congregation to flee.
No charges have been laid, although counter-terrorism police have raided multiple properties as part of that investigation.
The latest attacks also follow disagreement between Australia’s special envoy to combat anti-Semitism and New South Wales MPs over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests from city centres.
Jillian Segal gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry examining anti-Semitism in Sydney on Friday and was pressed on her previous statements labelling the weekly demonstrations “intimidatory” and “sinister.”
Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an “uncivil way to describe them and the people participating.”
