Australian political leaders pledge to rebuild firebombed Melbourne synagogue

By Zev Stub

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18 March 2025, 5:45 pm

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Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.

This handout photo taken and released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on December 10, 2024 shows Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) and members of the local Jewish community visiting the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 10, 2024, after it was set ablaze on December 6. (Handout / DEPARTMENT OF PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET / AFP)

Ahead of Australia’s national elections, both of the country’s largest parties have pledged to rebuild Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, which was severely damaged in December by an antisemitic firebombing attack.

The ruling Labor party pledges AUD $30 million toward the reconstruction, as well as up to AUD $1.2 million for security upgrades. Those sums are in addition to AUD $250,000 given to replace and restore damaged Torah scrolls.

The announcement comes a day after opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged up to AUD $35 million to restore the synagogue if his Liberal party comes into power in the elections, scheduled for May.

The synagogue also raised more than AUD $600,000 in a crowdfunding campaign for its reconstruction shortly after the fire.