‘Inside completely gutted’: Mask-wearing suspects set Melbourne synagogue ablaze
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Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, on Dec 6.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SYDNEY – Mask-wearing arsonists set a synagogue ablaze in a pre-dawn attack on Dec 6 in Melbourne, the police said, sparking condemnation by the Australian Prime Minister.
The police said there was “significant damage” to the building, and television images showed firefighters hosing down the embers through the door.
A witness entering the Australian synagogue for morning prayers saw “two individuals wearing masks”, Detective Inspector Chris Murray of the Victorian police arson and explosive squad told reporters at the scene.
“They appeared to be spreading an accelerant of some type on the premises,” he said.
The synagogue was “engulfed in flames”, he added.
“We believe it was deliberate. We believe it has been targeted. What we don’t know is why.”
The police will increase patrols and do their utmost to catch the arsonists, who were described as wearing dark clothing, he said.
Detectives would be looking at CCTV footage and interviewing any witnesses, Mr Murray said.
The fire broke out at 4.10am (1.10am Singapore time) at the Adass Israel Synagogue in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea, the police said. No injuries were reported.
A board member of the synagogue, Mr Benjamin Klein, said a few congregants were sitting and praying inside when the fire started.
“They heard loud banging,” Mr Klein told AFP.
Liquid was poured inside the synagogue and set alight, he said.
“If this had happened an hour later, there would have been hundreds of people inside,” Mr Klein said.
The congregants “ran out the back of the synagogue. One man who ran out – his hand got burnt,” he said.
“The fire was extensive,” he told AFP. “Inside is completely gutted.”
Holy books and furniture had been destroyed, he said, vowing that the community would “rebuild”.
The police said there was “significant damage” to the building, and television images showed firefighters hosing down the embers through the door.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Creating fear
Mr Klein said the synagogue had increased security over the past 12 months following safety concerns, without giving further details.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he “unequivocally” condemned the incident.
“This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.
“This attack has risked lives and is clearly aimed at creating fear in the community.”
The Australian Prime Minister said he had “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism.
“It has absolutely no place in Australia.”
The synagogue had reportedly increased security over the past 12 months following safety concerns.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The Australian federal police will assist Victoria in the investigation, he said.
“This deliberate, unlawful attack goes against everything we are as Australians and everything we have worked so hard to build as a nation.”
The war in Gaza has sparked protests from supporters of Israel and Palestinians in cities around Australia, as in much of the world.
In 1995, the synagogue was damaged by a deliberately lit fire, with walls and Torah scrolls burnt.
Mr Klein, who was a child at the time, said he remembered standing inside the damaged synagogue with his grandfather who he said was a Holocaust survivor. AFP
