Violence at synagogue and restaurant unnerves Jews in Melbourne

By Victoria Kim

Australia’s Jewish community was on edge Saturday after two violent episodes the previous night in Melbourne, one at a synagogue and one at an Israeli restaurant, the latest flare-up after earlier spates of attacks against Jewish institutions in the country.

Police in Victoria, where Melbourne is located, said they were investigating the two separate events, which took place around 8 p.m. Friday about a mile apart.

In one, a man poured flammable liquid on the front door of a synagogue in East Melbourne with about 20 people inside and set it aflame before fleeing the scene, according to Victoria Police. Everyone inside was able to evacuate through a rear exit, and firefighters extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the front entrance, police said. There were no injuries and no reports of any arrests.

An arson investigator was examining the scene, according to a police statement.

Around the same time, a group of about 20 protesters near the center of the city shouted “offensive chants” at diners at a restaurant, police said, leading to the arrest of one of the protesters for “hindering police.”

Police did not say what the chants were or give information on any damage. The local news media reported that tables were overturned and objects were thrown at the restaurant, resulting in a broken window. A 28-year-old man who had been arrested was released with a summons, according to police.

A woman who answered the phone at the restaurant declined to comment.

The premier of the state of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, said in a statement Saturday that the intentions behind the two events were apparent.

“Every Victorian deserves to live in peace and dignity, but the acts we saw last night at the East Melbourne Synagogue — and elsewhere in the city — are designed to shatter that peace and traumatize Jewish families,” she said. Describing the synagogue attack an act of antisemitism, she said, “it is disgraceful behavior by a pack of cowards.”