Melbourne synagogue set on fire in early morning attack as police hunt for two masked men

Melbourne

A Melbourne synagogue came under attack on Friday when suspects set it on fire, an incident the prime minister has condemned as an "act of hate". The attack took place on the Adass Israel synagogue at Glen Eira Avenue in Ripponlea at around 4 am. Police are looking for two masked men in connection with the arson and believe it was a targeted attack. However, they said they are keeping an "open mind" on a motive.

When the attack took place, a few worshippers were still inside the building. Jewish leaders and community members have strongly come down on the attack. 

Firefighters said that after they arrived, they saw the building was fully ablaze. Community leaders told local media that those inside at the time for morning prayers reported seeing firebombs thrown. The attack left one person injured and the building also sustained extensive damage.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the incident was "clearly aimed at creating fear in the community".

"This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage," he wrote. "I have zero tolerance for antisemitism."

He further called for those behind the attack to be caught and "face the full force of the law."

Officers from the Victoria Police Arson and Explosives Squad are investigating the attack they say was deliberately carried out on one of Australia’s most significant Jewish centres. Deputy Inspector Chris Murray quoted a witness as saying that he saw two people in masks who supposedly spread accelerant inside the building.

As per Synagogue board member Benjamin Klein, who talked to The Age newspaper, people who were inside at the time of the incident "heard banging on the door and the window and some liquids came through which were lit".

Calling the attack "quite horrendous and scary", Klein said that they had received verbal threats in recent months following which they had increased the security of the place. "We are here most of the time, praying, studying and learning to connecting with the one above," he said.

The Jewish Council Australia claimed that Molotov cocktails were used in the attack. "This act of disgusting violence is not just an attack on one synagogue, but is an attack on Jewish communities more broadly," executive officer Sarah Schwartz said.