Synagogue blaze should be treated as terror, Australian leader says
PM Albanese appears to push back after Netanyahu claims Canberra’s policies incited arson that gutted Melbourne synagogue, decries rise in antisemitism
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday called a deliberately lit fire in a Melbourne synagogue an act of “terrorism” and warned about the “worrying rise in antisemitism” in Australia, pushing back against criticism that his government’s policies had helped ignite the attack.
Mask-wearing arsonists set the Adass Israel Synagogue in a Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea ablaze before dawn on Friday, gutting much of the building, though there were no serious injuries. Authorities are still on the hunt for the perpetrators.
“The atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community and therefore from my personal perspective certainly fulfill that definition of terrorism,” Albanese said at a press conference in Perth.
“There has been a worrying rise in antisemitism,” the prime minister added.
Australian police — who determine whether an incident is a terrorist act — will meet on Monday to see if the fire meets the official criteria, as they continue to hunt down the two arsonists.
The attack has drawn widespread condemnation within Australia and abroad.
In the wake of the attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu said the “heinous act cannot be separated from the anti-Israel sentiment emanating from the Australian Labor government.”
He cited Canberra’s decision to vote for a UN resolution demanding the end of Israel’s “unlawful” occupation of Palestinian territory.
“Anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism,” he said.
Conservative politicians and Jewish groups have criticized Albanese’s government for what they say is a failure to call out antisemitism.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton pointed the finger at Albanese, saying Sunday that the prime minister believed “that by not taking a strong stance in relation to antisemitism, that somehow that will deliver him political benefit domestically.”
Australia’s government defended its record on antisemitism, saying on Saturday that since Albanese took office in May 2022 the government has provided $25 million Australian ($15 million) to upgrade security at Jewish sites including schools, banned the Nazi salute and taken action against hate speech.
Laws passed last year also banned public displays of terror group symbols.
Albanese’s comments came just days after Australia voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution that demanded the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
New Zealand, Britain, and Canada were among 157 countries that voted for the resolution, with eight against.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong defended the vote, saying “Australia is part of the overwhelming majority of the international community that wants to end the war and see a two-state solution.”
But while Australians were “free to support or disagree with the actions of Israel”, Wong said this must not be used “as a cloak for prejudice.”
“Targeting the Australian Jewish community is an act of anti-Semitism and utterly unacceptable,” Wong said, adding that “turning this into a political fight is reckless.”
The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.
Australia has experienced a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Some Jewish groups have said the government has not done enough in response.
