Shock footage shows anti-Semitic arson
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has pulled together the taskforce after a synagogue was firebombed, a Jewish-owned restaurant was stormed while people ate inside, and another business was vandalised; all across this past weekend.
Ms Allan made a private visit to the targeted synagogue on Monday, and revealed the state government gave the shule $80,000 for increased security last year.
The Premier has tapped the Police Minister, Lord Mayor and police executives for the 'anti-hate' taskforce, Ms Allan's office says. Invitations will go out to representatives of Melbourne's Jewish community. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the attacks. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia The front door of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation was set on fire on Friday night. NewsWire / Valeriu Campan Credit: News Corp Australia
Speaking outside the synagogue on Monday, Ms Allan said Jewish Victorians were an important part of the community.
'I'll continue to stand with a strong, proud Jewish community here in Victoria every single day.
'They are a big, important part of our community. They demand our support at this most difficult time.
'They demand our action, which is why, alongside strengthening laws and the response of Victoria Police, we will continue to work to build a stronger place where everyone can be who they are and practise their faith safe and free from hate.'
In a statement released soon after, Ms Allan detailed the taskforce's first steps.
She will request details on how Victoria Police plans to 'operationalise the criminal components' of the new Anti-Vilification and Social Cohesion Act.
Ms Allan has also requested an update from the Local Escalation and Help (LEAH) group, which was set up to support the Jewish community at a local level.
The taskforce members will also learn how community consultation and development of legislation is progressing, in a push for increased police powers to stamp out extreme and violent protest.
At the synagogue on Monday, Ms Allan said she pledged to the Rabbi that the government would fund mental health support for the people inside during the fire, particularly the children.
Ms Allan also revealed the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation received $80,000 from the government for security upgrades in December. 'Free Palestine' was graffitied onto the wall of a restaurant in the Melbourne CBD. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia Police spoke to the owners of the popular restaurant. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia
'Places of worship like this synagogue are a part of our fabric as a society,' Ms Allan said.
'We will protect them with everything we've got.'
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she and shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser would travel to the east Melbourne Synagogue on Tuesday.
'Julian Leeser and I will be traveling tomorrow to the east Melbourne synagogue with other Victorian colleagues to meet the Jewish community there and to hear directly from them about the awful, hideous events over the weekend, and to reassure them of our ongoing support, our care and our commitment,' she said.
The first of this weekend's three incidents happened at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation at 8pm on Friday as about 20 adults and children worshipped inside.
Angelo Loras, 34, from NSW, allegedly poured accelerant on the front door and set fire to the synagogue. Nobody inside was physically injured. Mr Loras was arrested about 24 hours later and has been charged with recklessly endangering life.
Police are still assessing whether the incident constituted an act of terrorism.
In a separate incident in the CBD on Friday night, an Israeli-owned restaurant was targeted. As people ate, a group of people who had split off from an anti-police violence protest harassed and intimidated diners. This incident happened on busy Hardware Lane. Cars were set alight and vandalised at the business in Melbourne's northeast early on Saturday morning. Supplied Credit: Supplied One of the three cars targeted by arsonists was destroyed. Supplied Credit: Supplied
A 28-year-old from Footscray was arrested for hindering police and released on summons.
Police have now released footage of a third incident, this too believed to have anti-Israeli motivations.
This act of vandalism happened at a business in the northeast suburb of Greensborough about 4am on Saturday.
Police say five people entered the property on Para Rd and set fire to three cars. One of the cars was destroyed.
'The group also used red spray paint to write various slogans on the cars and on a building wall,' a police spokesperson said.
Police released footage of the attack early on Monday. It shows masked people setting two cars on fire, while another person spray paints one of the cars.
'While investigators continue to liaise with Counter Terrorism Command to establish if there are any connections to the arson on the synagogue in East Melbourne and a public order incident on Hardware Lane, at this time no links have been identified,' a police spokesperson said.
'There is absolutely no place at all in our society for anti-Semitic behaviour.'
Police say this group took off on e-bikes in a south-westerly direction along Plenty River. All were wearing black hoodies, with backpacks and gloves.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
Erin Patterson trial: Jury indicates verdicts to judge in mushroom murder case
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. It took just three minutes for 12 jurors to enter the Latrobe Valley courtroom, deliver unanimous verdicts and leave. But a key sign as the group entered showed Erin Patterson what was coming. Standing flanked by two burly guards in the dock at 2.15pm as the dozen Victorians returned to the court for the first time in more than a week, Patterson tried to meet their eyes. But as each of the seven men and five women took their seat, none would match her gaze. Justice Beale's associate then asked the foreperson, a woman wearing a brown cardigan, if they had agreed on verdicts. 'Yes we have,' she said, before softly pronouncing 'guilty' four times for the three murder and one attempted murder charges. Ms Patterson, 50, faced trial after pleading not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder stemming from a lunch she hosted at her Leongatha home, in southeast Victoria, on July 29, 2023. The mother-of-two served a beef wellington meal to four members of her husband Simon Patterson's family containing death cap mushrooms. Ms Patterson has maintained she did not intend to harm Simon Patterson's family. Picture: Supplied. Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, died from death cap poisoning in the week following the lunch while Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, survived. Prosecutors alleged Ms Patterson deliberately sought out and included the deadly fungi in the lunch intending to kill or at least seriously injure her guests. Her defence, on the other hand, have argued the poisoning was an unintentional and tragic accident – questioning why Ms Patterson would want to kill her loved ones. Don and Gail Patterson died a day apart in early August 2023. Picture: Supplied Over eight weeks of evidence, jurors in the trial heard from more that 50 witnesses, including family, doctors, experts and Ms Patterson herself. The jury, of eight men and five women, were sent out to deliberate shortly after 1pm on Monday when they were told any verdict must be unanimous. It has been 7 days since they were sent out. Over the course of their deliberations, jurors are being sequestered at a hotel and have limited contact with the outside world having handed over their phones. In his final remarks, Justice Beale said they would be deliberating Mondays to Saturdays and given as long as it takes. Originally published as Erin Patterson trial: Moment Erin realised jury would find her guilty
Sky News AU
40 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump's threat to increase tariffs to "anti-American" countries is a problem for Australia
Donald Trump has threatened 'any country' aligning themselves with "anti-American" policies will be met with further geopolitical economic strain, and also confirmed "tariff letters" are to be sent imminently. "I am pleased to announce that the UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals, with various Countries from around the World, will be delivered starting 12:00 P.M. (Eastern), Monday, July 7th. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP, President of The United States of America,' Trump said on social media platform Truth Social. Shortly following his post, Trump said any country aligning themselves with BRICS 'anti-American' policies will receive an additional 10 per cent tariff. 'Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' he said. The President did not specify or expand on the 'Anti-American policies' referenced in the post. BRICS is a group of gathered leaders in an intergovernmental organisation first composing of Brazil, Russia, India and China in its first summit in 2009. The bloc later grew with South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates becoming members. BRICS leaders met at a summit on Sunday taking aim at Trump's import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran. Trump's threat around "anti-American" countries comes as Mr Albanese and Labor ministers were exposed for a long history of anti-Trump social media posts. uncovered the posts made about US President Donald Trump, which experts warn have 'sabotaged' relationships and plunged Australia into diplomatic crisis. At least a dozen senior ministers have publicly attacked Donald Trump on social media, with some politicians describing him as a threat to democracy and a liar. The Albanese government is under pressure to seek a meeting with the US president, while also not confirming whether Australia will receive a tariff exemption. Albanese will be meeting with Xi Jinping, Premier of BRICS nation China, for the fourth time while he remains unable to meet with US President Trump. Australia's tariff inclusion, which is currently subject to a 10 per cent blanket tariff and select duties on steel and aluminium, is raising alarm in both government and opposition ranks. 'We don't know yet (if Australia will receive a letter), that will be announced this week, but Australia is opposed to the reciprocal tariffs that have been foreshadowed for our nation,' Assistant Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News. 'There has been a pause on them, and that pause ends this week. We've said that this is not the actions of a friend.' Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, however, put blame on Mr Albanese for putting the nation in a position of uncertainty. 'We don't know what we're getting because the Prime Minister hasn't had the conversations with the US President, and it is a big problem to assume we're just going to get the 10 per cent and not get a letter. That's not good enough,' she said. Mr Albanese said US tariffs were 'an act of economic self-harm' and that he would continue to make the case for an exemption. 'We continue to be engaged with our American friends, but they have a different position on tariffs,' he said last weekend. Meanwhile, former Labor senator Graham Richardson claims there are 'no signs' Trump will grant Australia a tariff exemption. 'I don't think there's a lot we can do about it … there are no signs at this stage that Trump's inclined to ease it off for us because I think he knows what the precedent for that means,' Mr Richardson told Sky News. 'He's pretty determined to keep that 10 per cent.'
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Mushroom cook a multi-millionaire
Over the course of a weeks-long murder trial, Erin Patterson was described as many things; a multi-millionaire and generous in-law, a devoted mother-of-two and a cold-blooded killer. The unassuming Victorian woman drew the world's attention after three of her husband's family died from a poisoned meal and a fourth fought his way back from death's door. Details about Patterson's life were revealed by those who knew her best as the Supreme Court trial played out in the regional town of Morwell over the last four months. She had pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, with her defence arguing the poisoning was a tragic accident. Erin Patterson maintained she did not intentionally harm anyone. Brooke Grebert-Craig. Credit: Supplied At trial, prosecutors argued Patterson intentionally sourced death cap mushrooms, the most poisonous known fungi, and included them in the beef wellington lunch intending to kill or at least seriously injure her four guests. Don and Gail Patterson, her husband Simon Patterson's parents, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died in the week after the lunch on July 29, 2023. Gail's husband Ian Wilkinson recovered after a lengthy stay in hospital. On X, jurors returned to the Latrobe Valley law court and returned unanimous guilty verdicts on all four charges following X days of deliberations. Erin Patterson's parents in law Don and Gail Patterson. Supplied. Credit: Supplied During the trial, jurors heard Patterson first met her husband in the early 2000s when they were both working at the Monash city council. She was an administrative assistant engaged by animal welfare charity the RSPCA while Simon was a civil engineer at the council. Giving evidence, Simon said they got to know each other as part of a 'fairly eclectic' group of friends from the council before developing a romantic relationship. 'Erin is very intelligent. I guess some of the things that attracted me to her in the first place was definitely her intelligence. She is quite witty and can be quite funny,' he said. She remains married to Simon Patterson. NewsWire / David Geraghty Credit: News Corp Australia The jury heard Patterson had worked as an accountant and as an air traffic controller at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport prior to meeting Simon. Patterson told the court she met Simon in 2004 and they began dating in July the following year. She said she first met his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, in about March or April 2005 while on a camping trip with Simon and a few friends and they stopped in at his parents. Patterson described herself as a 'fundamentalist atheist' and initially sought to convert Simon, a devout Christian, but ' things happened in reverse and I became a Christian'. She pointed to a 'spiritual experience' while on that camping trip when they attended a service at Korumburra Baptist Church where Simon's uncle, Ian Wilkinson, was pastor. I'd been approaching religion as an intellectual exercise up until that point,' Patterson said. 'But I had what I would call a religious experience there and it quite overwhelmed me.' Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia The Korumburra Baptist Church where Mr Wilkinson has been pastor for two decades. NewsWire / Josie Hayden Credit: News Corp Australia Simon told the court a month after their wedding on June 2, 2007, the pair set off on a cross-country trip. 'We planned, before we married, to pack up everything, get a four-wheel drive and drive across Australia and camp in tents, which we did,' he said. Their wedding was held under a marquee at Don and Gail's Korumburra home, with Simon's cousin, David Wilkinson, walking her down the aisle. Patterson told the jury her parents did not attend as they were on a holiday crossing Russia by train. By late 2007, Simon said, they settled down in Perth where he found work at a local council. The jury heard their first child, a son, was born in January 2009, with Patterson describing the birth as 'very traumatic'. On the stand, she said she developed a mistrust of doctors and questioned if they knew what they were doing. The couple also took a number of international holidays, including to New Zealand and Africa. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Patterson said Don and Gail came to stay with them after the birth, saying Gail was 'really supportive, and gentle and patient with me'. 'I remember being really relieved that Gail was there because I felt really out of my depth,' she said. A few months later the family packed up again heading north and covering the top end of Australia. After months of travel, Patterson said she'd had a 'gutful' and elected to fly back to Perth from Townsville leaving Simon and their son to drive back. 'It had been a good holiday but I'd had enough. I wanted to sleep in a real bed,' she said. The jury heard this led to the couple's first separation, in late 2009, for 'about six months' with Patterson and their son living in a rental while Simon lived nearby in a caravan. 'What I understood from Erin was that she was struggling inside herself,' Simon said. The couple underwent marriage counselling and the family reunited after Simon moved to the wheatbelt town of York for work as a council civil engineer. For a time, the couple also lived in Quinninup, in Western Australia's southwest, and Patterson started a second hand book shop in Pemberton which she operated in 2011 and 2012. Giving evidence, Simon said there were a few other periods of short separation while the pair lived in Western Australia before they returned to Victoria in 2013. Patterson's second child, a girl, was born in 2014, and the couple purchased a home in Korumburra to be close to Simon's family the same year. Simon's sister, Anna Terrington, said she developed a strong bond with Patterson because they were both pregnant at the same time. She gave evidence their children, born three days apart, were known in the family as 'the twins'. Anna and Josh Terrington, with sibling Matthew Patterson (right). NewsWire/Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia Many of Simon's family members called in the trial described Patterson as a devoted mother to her two children. The couple separated for a final time in late 2015, the jury heard. Asked about the separation, Patterson said she believed the key issue in their relationship was communication but that Simon and her remained close and co-operative in the following years. 'Primarily what we struggled with over the entire course of our relationship … we just couldn't communicate well when we disagreed about something,' she said. 'We could never communicate in a way that made each of us feel heard or understood, so we would just feel hurt and not know how to resolve it.' Patterson told the court after their separation, she remained close to Simon's parents and continued to attend family events. 'It never changed. I was just their daughter-in-law and they just continued to love me,' she said. A court sketch of Erin Patterson during the trial. NewsWire / Paul Tyquin Credit: News Corp Australia The jury heard Patterson received a large inheritance after her grandmother's death in 2006, with disbursements paid out twice annually until 2015. Simon agreed Patterson was 'very generous' with the money, with the couple lending hundreds of thousands of dollars to each of his three siblings and their partners interest free. 'We wouldn't have been able to do it without those inheritances,' he said. 'Money has not been the most important motivation to either Erin or me in our decisions.' He said he believed it totalled roughly $2 million. Patterson also received another large inheritance in 2019 after her mother's death split her estate between her two daughters. The jury heard Patterson used part of this money to buy a block of land at Gibson St, Leongatha, where she built her family home and the location of the deadly lunch. Living on the 3 acre block in the small dairy town, Patterson said she kept animals including sheep and goats. Erin Patterson's home in Leongatha. NewsWire / Diego Fedele. Credit: News Corp Australia Despite their separation four years earlier, Patterson titled both the Gibson St property and a home in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley as shared ownership with her husband. Simon told the court he viewed this at the time as a sign Patterson remained committed to the family unit and was hopeful they would reconcile. He said he believed Patterson had struggled with her self-image for many years although she never explicitly said this to him. On the stand, Patterson said she had body-image issues since childhood and struggled with her weight. 'I tried every diet under the sun,' she said. 'When I was a kid, mum would weigh us every week to make sure we weren't putting on too much weight.' Patterson told the court she had engaged in binge eating and purging since her 20s but no one knew. The jury heard from three witnesses who came to know Patterson in 2020 through an online true crime Facebook group that splintered off into a social chat during the Covid pandemic and continued into 2023. Non-profit manager Christine Hunt said Patterson had made a name for herself in the group as a 'super-sleuth', able to dig up details about true crime cases they discussed. Stay at home mum Daniela Barkley said she believed Patterson to be a wonderful mother, but recalled she vented about problems with Simon and his family. Daniela Barkley said she formed the view Simon was not a nice man from Patterson's posts. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia A series of messages Patterson sent to the group between December 6 and 9 in 2022, captured her complaining about her husband and his family. 'I'm sick of this s--t I want nothing to do with them. I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing but it seems their concern about not wanting to feel uncomfortable and not wanting to get involved in their son's personal matters are overriding that so f--k em,' one message read. Patterson told the jury she regrets the messages, but her defence noted they needed to be viewed in the proper context of a woman venting to her support network. Giving evidence, Simon told the jury they remained friendly and committed to co-parenting their two children but he first noticed a change in their relationship in late 2022. He said he believed this was after Patterson noticed he'd been listed as separated for the first time in his tax return and he understood the change to have financial implications. Simon Patterson was the first witness called in the trial. NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui Credit: News Corp Australia Patterson disagreed, saying while there was a change in the relationship, it occurred weeks later after Simon began to refuse to contribute to their children's schooling and medical costs. 'I wasn't upset, because him listing himself as single on his tax return meant I now have the opportunity to claim family tax benefit that I had been denied before,' she said. Simon said after the tax return, Patterson had filed a child support claim and he'd been instructed by authorities not to pay for things until a financial agreement was reached. Both agreed tensions had cooled down by the end of 2022 but their relationship became 'functional' after this point. She will return to court at a later date.
