Police investigate two anti-Semitic attacks in Australia
July 5 (UPI) -- An Israeli restaurant and a synagogue in Melbourne were damaged in separate overnight incidents, according to police officials.
Around 20 people were inside the synagogue in the eastern part of the city when someone used flammable liquid to start a fire on the exterior of the building, the Victoria Police Department confirmed.
No injuries were reported and police have not reported any arrests or said if they have identified a suspect.
Antisemitism has no place in Australia. Those responsible for the shocking acts in Melbourne last night must face the full force of the law and my Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort. pic.twitter.com/jyFO2odHgK— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 5, 2025
"Last night's attack on a synagogue in East Melbourne is cowardly, is an act of violence and anti-Semitism and has no place in Australian society," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on X, accompanied by a video.
A post about the incidents on the Victoria Police Department website has since been removed.
Not far from the East Melbourne Synagogue, protesters charged into the Jewish-owned restaurant, overturning tables and breaking a window, leading to the arrest of one man.
"Antisemitism has no place in Australia," Albanese said on X.
"Those responsible for the shocking acts in Melbourne last night must face the full force of the law and my Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort."
Local media reported the man attempted to get inside the synagogue but people inside did not recognize him and left the door closed. His image was captured on camera before leaving the flammable device on the doorstep.
"That is the really scary thing. They could have opened the door to a person who clearly had bigger plans. You wonder if he had more stuff in that bag to do more harm," East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Dovid Gutnick told The Age in an interview.
The two incidents are the latest in what officials call a wave of anti-Semitic behavior in the country over the last several months, due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
In January, federal officials confirmed they were looking at whether or not "overseas actors of individuals" were recruiting and paying local Australians to carry out anti-Semitic acts violence or vandalism.
Earlier that month, lawmakers passed new legislation prohibiting people from performing the Nazi salute in public and from displaying Nazi symbols in Australia.
"Every Victorian deserves to live in peace and dignity, but the acts we saw last night at the East Melbourne Synagogue - and elsewhere in the city - are designed to shatter that peace and traumatize Jewish families," Victoria Premier said on X following the incidents.
"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 anti-Semitism. There should be no hesitation in calling this what it is. It is disgraceful behaviour by a pack of cowards."
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