Victorian Police Step up Patrols in Jewish Areas After UK Synagogue Attack

Jewish leaders say communities are having to take extraordinary measures for safety.

Victoria Police have increased patrols of Jewish areas, including mounted police. Courtesy of Victoria Police

Victorian police have increased patrols of Jewish neighbourhoods, with support from the mounted branch and riot squad, as community leaders say they feel increasingly under threat.

The measures come after a terror attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, at a synagogue in Manchester in the UK, which left two people dead and others injured. Police there allege 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie used a car and knife to ambush attendees.

Jewis communities are currently observing the High Holidays, from Sept. 22 to Oct. 15, a period that has often been targeted by extremists.

In December 2024, Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue was fire-bombed and destroyed during Shabbat.

“We understand the Jewish community will be feeling fearful and anxious following the recent incident in Manchester,” a Victoria Police spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“Victoria Police is conducting additional patrols across the Glen Eira-Bayside and Port Phillip areas during the Jewish high holy period, with local officers assisted by the Public Order Response Team and the Mounted Branch.”

Operation Park and Community Safety

In 2023, Victoria Police established Operation Park to coordinate responses to offences associated with conflict in the Middle East.

Since then, police say they have conducted 10,500 patrols within Jewish communities areas in the state, including 8,000 “reassurance patrols” across Melbourne’s south-east.

“The operation not only incorporates police responses to protests, but also patrols and activities around places of worship and cultural significance to the Jewish community, including schools, synagogues and community hubs,” the spokesperson said.

Fire crews and police at the scene of a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 6, 2024. Con Chronis/AAP Image via AP

Since its launch, Operation Park has led to 257 arrests, with penalties ranging from community work and fines to prison sentences. Police say there have also been 437 reports of antisemitism.

The privately-run Community Security Group (CSG) Victoria, which seeks to enable safe gatherings of Jewish people through security measures, issued a statement after the Oct. 2 Manchester attack, saying UK counterparts had been consulted.

“Additionally, we have already reviewed our operational plan and have been in touch with Victoria Police to ensure the Victorian Jewish community is sufficiently supported as we head into Shabbat and then Sukkot,” the group said.

Jewish Community’s Deep Concerns

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory said many Jewish Australians were feeling increasingly under threat in the current political environment.

“Nobody in the Jewish community is surprised to see a terrorist attack on a synagogue just days after the recognition of a so-called ‘state of Palestine,’” he told The Epoch Times.

“We warned this move would embolden extremists, and sadly, it has.

“The Australian Jewish community is deeply concerned that similar attacks could occur here.”

Gregory said Jewish communities had been forced for years to take extraordinary security measures.

“Synagogues, schools and community centres are protected by armed guards and high fences, protections no other minority group in Australia requires,” he said.

“This takes a heavy toll. Ordinary Jewish Australians simply wanting to attend synagogue or community events should not have to feel like they are entering a fortress.

“The rise in anti-Semitism, combined with government decisions that embolden extremists, makes Jewish life in Australia feel increasingly under threat.”