Israeli leaders blast ‘vile’ attacks in Melbourne, demand Australia tackle antisemitism
Herzog says ‘intolerable’ to still be faced with ‘chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive’ after synagogue, Israeli restaurant attacked within minutes of each other
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned on Saturday the “vile” and “antisemitic” attacks on a synagogue and an Israeli-owned restaurant in Melbourne the previous night and called on the Australian government to prevent similar acts in the future.
On Friday evening, a mob of pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized the Israeli-owned restaurant Miznon in Melbourne, just minutes after a nearby historic synagogue was targeted in an arson attack while worshippers were inside, Australian authorities said.
About 20 anti-Israel protesters stormed Miznon, owned by Israeli restaurateur Eyal Shani, at around 8:30 p.m. local time. The Herald Sun cited witnesses who said the mob chanted “Death to the IDF” — the same chant given a platform by rap duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury festival in England the previous weekend.
In a Hebrew-language statement released by his office on Saturday, Netanyahu said that the “vile antisemitic attacks—accompanied by chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ and an attempt to harm a house of worship—are serious hate crimes that must be uprooted at their source.”
“Israel will continue to stand with the Jewish community in Australia, and we call on the Australian government to take all necessary measures to bring the rioters to justice and to prevent such attacks in the future,” added the premier.
In a post on X, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he “strongly condemn[s] last night’s vile antisemitic attacks in Melbourne,” and stressed that “Israel stands firmly with the Jewish community in Australia.”
“There have been too many antisemitic attacks in Australia,” the foreign minister said.
“The Australian government must do more to fight this poisonous disease.”
Suspected arson at this synagogue in East Melbourne. FRV say they received triple zero calls around 8pm last night. More to come #7NEWS @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/rbYZwlANF1
— Jacqueline Stanley (@jacstanley7) July 4, 2025
President Isaac Herzog also took to X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together.”
“It is intolerable that in 2025 we are still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they pray and attacks on Jewish businesses,” said the Israeli president.
Two major antisemitic attacks in Melbourne, Australia:
A synagogue was set on fire with 20 people inside the synagogue at the time, however, everyone was able to evacuate from the back.
In a separate incident, a group of 20 Palestinian protestors stormed and trashed an Israeli… pic.twitter.com/dDJALZ9LID
— Ari Ingel (@OGAride) July 4, 2025
Noting the skyrocketing antisemitic crime in Australia in recent months, Herzog warned that “antisemitism is a stain on any society.”
“Australian authorities must take all steps necessary to protect their Jewish citizens,” he demanded.
I condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together. It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 5, 2025
Support for the people targeted in the attack came from outside of Israel as well, and dozens of people rallied outside the London location of Miznon on Saturday with Israeli and pride flags in a show of support for the business and its owner.
A wave of antisemitic attacks has swept through Australia in recent months, fueled by tensions surrounding the Israel–Hamas war, and the attack on the synagogue came seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists who set a blaze that injured one and caused widespread damage.
Australia’s Jewish community, numbering around 120,000, has been among the hardest hit by the global surge in antisemitism since October 7, 2023. The country experienced more than 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2023 and September 2024, more than quadruple the number from the year before Hamas’s October 7 assault that sparked the Gaza war, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
In recent months, Jews there have experienced synagogues, schools, and homes firebombed, two nurses threatening to kill Jewish patients in their hospital, and the discovery of a trailer filled with explosives said to be intended for a mass-casualty event at a Sydney synagogue.
The Times of Israel Community.