Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue
door
[July 05, 2025]
By ROD McGUIRK
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — 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., a police statement
said on 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.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said both incidents 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.
Antisemitic attacks roil Australia since 2023
A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled 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.
Police say synagogue attack is a serious crime
Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan described the latest
synagogue fire as a serious crime. Police released a CCTV image of a
suspect.
“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.
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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/AAP Image via
AP)

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.
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 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.
Sharren Haskel expressed her full solidarity with the Jewish
community in Melbourne, “Israel stands with you,” she said in the
statement.
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