A community is on edge following an arson attack upon one of Australia's oldest synagogues. - Photo: AAP
SYDNEY: A man suspected of setting fire to an Australian synagogue as worshippers ate dinner inside has been arrested and charged, police said Sunday (July 6).
The 34-year-old allegedly set the front door of a busy Melbourne synagogue ablaze on Friday night as around 20 people ate dinner in observation of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.
The attack has drawn strong condemnation from the prime ministers of both Australia and Israel.
Victoria state police charged the man with a string of offences, including reckless conduct endangering life.
"Detectives will continue to examine the intent and ideology of the person charged to determine if the incident is in fact terrorism," police said in a statement.
The worshippers escaped unscathed through the back of the synagogue before firefighters doused the blaze.
Police said they were yet to find a link between two other incidents targeting Jewish residents in Melbourne on Friday night.
A group of about 20 protesters swarmed an Israeli-owned restaurant, interrupting the dinner service as they chanted at patrons.
The protesters allegedly flipped over tables and smashed a window, according to local media.
Cars were set on fire and daubed with antisemitic graffiti in a third incident in another part of the city.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday condemned the synagogue attack as a "cowardly" act of violence.
"And the fact that people were having a peaceful dinner, and (were) disrupted by this act of violence could have had catastrophic consequences," he said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "reprehensible", while decrying the restaurant incident as a "violent assault" by "pro-Palestinian rioters".
"We demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future," he said.
Jewish neighbourhoods in Melbourne and Sydney have in recent months been hit by a wave of antisemitic vandalism.
Masked arsonists firebombed a different Melbourne synagogue in December, prompting the government to create a federal task force targeting antisemitism. - AFP
