Australia’s Jewish community was on edge on 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.
The police in Victoria, where Melbourne is located, said they were investigating the two separate events, which took place around 8 p.m. on 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 the Victoria Police. Everyone inside was able to evacuate through a rear exit, and firefighters extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the front entrance, the police said. There were no injuries and no reports of any arrests.
An arson investigator was examining the scene, according to the 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, the police said, leading to the arrest of one of the protesters for “hindering police.”
The 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 the 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 on 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.”
Groups representing Jewish residents in the Melbourne area, which has the largest Jewish population in the country, urged members of the community to be vigilant and said that security patrols were being increased.
“A synagogue that has witnessed Jewish life in Melbourne for generations has been attacked,” the Jewish Community Council of Victoria said in a statement. “We cannot say it louder any more, enough is enough.”
Nicholas Reece, the lord mayor of Melbourne, said he had gone to the East Melbourne Synagogue less than an hour after Friday night’s attack because he happened to be nearby.
Congregants outside the synagogue, where the door was visibly badly burned, told him they had been having a meal for the Sabbath when a boy who was in the foyer noticed smoke and yelled out, interrupting the attacker, he said.
“They were very shaken as a result of this incident,” he said. A major police investigation is underway, he added.
In recent months, synagogues in Sydney and in Melbourne have been targeted with attempted arson and graffiti. Other Jewish institutions, including a day care center, have been attacked, leading the police to form a federal task force to investigate antisemitic violence and threats.
Reports of Islamophobic events have also increased, including threats against a mosque and an Islamic school, according to researchers tracking the episodes.
Tensions emanating from the war in Gaza have repeatedly roiled and tested Australia’s immigrant-heavy civil society, which prides itself on its diversity.
A large pro-Palestinian demonstration on the steps of the iconic Opera House in the days after the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel fueled accusations of hate speech and prompted a prolonged investigation over what the protesters were chanting.
Early this year, federal and state governments enacted new laws restricting protesters’ rights and criminalizing certain types of statements.
Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.
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