Latest news with #RabbiGutnick
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Alleged arsonist charged over fire at Australian synagogue
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A man was charged Sunday over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation of antisemitic violence in Australia's second-most populous city. Angelo Loras, 34, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court Sunday charged with arson, endangering life and property damage. He was also charged with possessing a 'controlled weapon' on Saturday when he was arrested. The charge sheet does not say what that weapon was. The Sydney resident did not enter a plea or apply to be released on bail. Magistrate John Lesser remanded Loras in custody to appear in court next on July 22. Flammable liquid was ignited at the door of the East Melbourne Synagogue, also known as the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, on Friday night as 20 worshippers shared a Shabbat meal inside. The congregation escaped without harm via a rear door and firefighters contained the blaze to the entrance area of the 148-year-old building. Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, who was inside the synagogue with his family on Friday, said security cameras showed the perpetrator ringing the doorbell twice moments before the flames erupted. Gutnick's 13-year-old son was in the synagogue office at the time and decided against opening the door after seeing the visitor on the security camera monitor. 'We use the security cameras to assess people who ring the doorbell. Generally, we don't hesitate to let someone in,' Gutnick told The Associated Press. 'My son hesitated and didn't answer. By the time I came to the front, there was already smoke and flames coming in under the door,' he added. It was the first of three apparent displays of antisemitic violence across the city on Friday and early Saturday morning. Authorities have yet to establish a link between incidents at the synagogue and two businesses. Antisemitism blamed for attacks on businesses Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A restaurant window was cracked, tables were flipped and chairs thrown as protesters chanted 'Death to the IDF,' referring to the Israel Defense Forces. A 28-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and charged with hindering police. Police are also investigating the spray-painting of a business in Melbourne's northern suburbs and an arson attack on three vehicles attached to the business before dawn on Saturday. The vehicles had also been graffitied. Police said there were antisemitic 'inferences' at the scene. The business had also been the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past year. Political leaders condemn antisemitism Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke met with Jewish leaders at the damaged synagogue on Sunday. Burke told reporters that investigators were searching for potential links between the three incidents. 'At this stage, our authorities have not drawn links between them. But obviously there's a link in antisemitism. There's a link in bigotry. There's a link in a willingness to either call for violence, to chant violence or to take out violent actions. They are very much linked in that way,' Burke said. 'There were three attacks that night and none of them belonged in Australia. Arson attacks, the chanting calls for death, other attacks and graffiti — none of it belonged in Australia and they were attacks on Australia,' Burke added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Australian government to 'take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.' 'I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters,' Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday. 'The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of 'death to the IDF' and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted,' he added.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Australian court charges alleged Melbourne synagogue arsonist
A man was charged on Sunday over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation of antisemitic violence in Australia's second-most populous city. Angelo Loras, 34, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Sunday charged with arson, endangering life and property damage. He was also charged with possessing a 'controlled weapon' on Saturday when he was arrested. The charge sheet did not say what that weapon was. The Sydney resident did not enter a plea or apply to be released on bail. Magistrate John Lesser remanded Loras in custody to appear in court next on July 22. Flammable liquid was ignited at the door of the East Melbourne Synagogue, also known as the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, on Friday night as 20 worshippers shared a Shabbat meal inside. The congregation escaped without harm via a rear door, and firefighters contained the blaze to the entrance area of the 148-year-old building. Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, who was inside the synagogue with his family on Friday, said security cameras showed the perpetrator ringing the doorbell twice moments before the flames erupted.
CBS News
05-07-2025
- CBS News
Arsonist sets fire to door at Australian synagogue with worshippers inside; no injuries reported
An arsonist set fire to the door of a Melbourne synagogue and forced the congregation to flee on Friday, seven months after criminals destroyed a synagogue in the same Australian city with an accelerant-fueled blaze that left a worshipper injured. A man doused the double front doors of the downtown East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and set it alight around 8 p.m., Victoria Police said in a news release Saturday. Around 20 worshippers sharing a meal to mark the Shabbat Jewish day of rest evacuated through a rear door and no one was injured, police said. Fire fighters extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the front entrance, police said. Photos show damage to the front doors. Police said that the arsonist was seen walking through a nearby park before entering the grounds of the synagogue. After setting the blaze, he fled the scene on foot, police said. He has not been identified. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said the incident and the previous attack were designed to "traumatize Jewish families." "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 antisemitism," she said in a statement. Rabbi Dovid Gutnick walks past damage to the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne, Saturday, July 5, 2025, after an arsonist set fire to the door. James Ross / AP Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the fire as a serious crime. The department's Counter Terrorism Security Investigation Unit are leading the investigation, police said in a news release Saturday, but the matter "has not been deemed a terrorism incident." "I'd like to make it very clear that we do recognize that these crimes are disgusting and abhorrent. But at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident," Dunstan told reporters. "In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly," she added. A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences. The synagogue's president, Danny Segal, called for the wider Australian community to stand with his congregation. "We're here to be in peace, you know, we're here for everybody to live together and we've got a fresh start in Australia, such a beautiful country, and what they're doing is just not fair and not right, and as Australians, we should stand up and everybody should stand up," Segal told reporters. Police say they are looking to speak to man seen in area Victoria Police released a CCTV image of a man they say they are interested in speaking to about the incident. They did not identify the man as a suspect. The unidentified man is described as in his mid-30s, with a beard and long hair. He was wearing a dark blue or black sweater, black pants and a black beanie. The CCTV photo shows him carrying a large black bag. A man Victoria Police are interested in speaking to about the Melbourne synagogue fire. Victoria Police Protesters harass diners in Israeli-owned restaurant Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant. A Miznon restaurant window was broken. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for hindering police. Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, a leading opponent of antisemitism in Australia, said diners were terrorized as the group chanted "Death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces. "Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews," Abramovich said. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece condemned both the synagogue and restaurant incidents. "These criminal acts against a Melbourne synagogue and an Israeli business are absolutely shocking," Reece said. "All of us as a community need to stand up against it." Israel's deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel condemned the attacks, saying it was "yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia," in a statement on X. "Israel stands with you," Haskel added. Victoria Police said its detectives are investigating if there are any links between the restaurant incident and the synagogue fire. They are also investigating an "arson attack and criminal damage" to a business in Greensborough, a suburb of Melbourne. Antisemitic, Islamaphobic attacks roil Australia A wave of antisemitic attacks have shaken Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Jewish and Muslim organizations and hate researchers have recorded drastic spikes in hate-fueled incidents on both groups. The Australian government last year appointed special envoys to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in the community. Last December, two masked men struck the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's southeast. They caused extensive damage by spreading a liquid accelerant with brooms throughout the building before igniting it. A worshipper sustained minor burns. No charges have been laid for that attack, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed on antisemitism. The Victorian Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes Victoria state police, federal police and Australia's main domestic spy agency, said the fire was likely a politically-motivated attack.
