Anti-semitic attacks in MELBOURNE, Australia

By Christina McIntosh

This is a mini-pogrom in MELBOURNE, Australia.  Note well that the attacks took place on a Friday evening, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath and FRIDAY being the favourite day for conducting Jihad attacks.

Reporting from various newspapers including  ABCNet,  Daily Mail Australia here and here,  and the Jerusalem Post

Police are investigating an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue carried out while about 20 people, including children, were having a Shabbat dinner inside the place of worship.

The latest anti-semitic attack punctuated what appeared to be a coordinated night of anti-Israel protests in central Melbourne which has left Jewish people fearing for their safety.

Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Phillip Zajac told this masthead (The Age) that a lone arsonist used fuel to torch the front doors of the East Melbourne Synagogue in Albert Street, East Melbourne at about 8pm.

A local fire brigade responded quickly and contained the fire, which caused only superficial damage to the bluestone building and heavy timber doors. The attack was captured on CCTV.

‘There is absolutely no place in our society for anti-Semitic or hate-based behaviour,’ a police spokesperson said.

The synagogue, one of Australia’s oldest, is close to Victoria’s parliament in the heart of the city.

On Saturday afternoon, Victoria Police revealed details about another incident that occurred at a business in Greensborough about 4:30am.

“It’s understood that unknown offenders attended a business on Para Road and set fire to three cars,” Acting Commander Zorka Dunstan said.

“They also used spray paint on the cars and a building wall. One of the cars was destroyed, the other two were moderately damaged.”

Commander Dunstan said the incident involved “some inferences to antisemitism”, and the business had been subject to pro-Palestinian activity over the past year which led police to believe it may be connected to the other two incidents from Friday.

It comes after Australia’s national security agency, ASIO, and federal police (AFP) joined the investigation into the synagogue arson attack and restaurant protest.

Police said neither of the three incidents were being treated as an act of terrorism at this stage, with the “intent and ideology” of the perpetrators yet to be clarified.

..at the Israeli-owned Miznon eatery on Hardware Lane … up to 20 protesters hurled chairs, food, and glassware at the venue while chanting ‘Death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)’.  Footage shared online showed the breakaway group throwing traffic bollards by passing cars and yelling expletives on their way to the restaurant after a separate protest involving 80 pro-Palestine in nearby Swanston Street.

When the masked protesters arrived at Miznon, diners can be heard screaming as furniture and tables are overturned.

Protesters were then seen clashing with police after dozens of officers arrived on the scene and shut down the laneway at both ends.

One protester was arrested for hindering police and released on summons.

‘Several other protesters were spoken to by police and had their identities clarified for the purpose of follow-up investigation,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. ‘Victoria Police continued to support the rights of Victorians to protest peacefully but will not tolerate the kind of anti-social and violent behaviour that was witnessed this evening.’

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission shared in response to the incidents, “On Friday night, someone tried to burn Jews alive in their house of worship. On Friday night, a mob hunted them down in the streets. This was terrorism. A synagogue, one of the oldest in the country, was deliberately set on fire while Jewish families were eating together. Had the flames reached further, we would be counting bodies, not blessings. Minutes later, a gang of masked rioters stormed an Israeli restaurant. They came armed with hatred and chairs, chanting “Death to the IDF” as they smashed windows and terrorised diners. Children screamed. Glass shattered. Melbourne, for one night, stopped being a safe place for Jews.

“This was a campaign. Not a coincidence. Not a one-off. A targeted, synchronised assault against Jews for being Jews. The fists, the chants, the violence—they were unleashed without restraint.

“To every leader in this nation: If you don’t know what to say, say this: This is barbaric. And it will not be tolerated. There is a sickness spreading in our streets. It wears masks. It carries drums. It chants for death. And on Friday night, it lit a match.

“We are not asking for sympathy. want action. We want justice. We want protection. Not next week. Not after the next attack. Now. And to those who set the fire, who threw the chairs, who cheered from the sidelines know this: You have not weakened us. You have awakened us.. And we will not be silent as the flames climb higher.”