Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned ‘serious hate crimes’ in Australia following an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue and chaotic protests at a nearby Israeli restaurant.
The front of the East Hebrew Congregation was allegedly set on fire on Albert Street, in East Melbourne, at 8pm on Friday.
A short time later, protesters gathered outside Israeli restaurant Miznon on nearby Hardware Lane.
Diners could be heard screaming as 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 yelling expletives on their way to the restaurant after a separate protest involving 80 pro-Palestine in nearby Swanston Street.
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.
The Joint Counter Terrorism Team arrested a 34-year-old man from Toongabbie, western Sydney, in Melbourne’s CBD at 8.15pm on Saturday and charged him over the alleged arson attack at the synagogue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue and a protest that erupted outside an Israeli restaurant
The arrest comes after police released on Saturday an image of a man they wished to speak to over the alleged arson attack
Netanyahu joined high-ranking Israeli officials to condemn the incidents and demand the government to take ‘all necessary measures’ to bring those responsible to justice.
‘Israel will continue to stand with the Jewish community in Australia, and we call on the Australian government to take all necessary measures to bring the rioters to justice and to prevent such attacks in the future.’
‘The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene on foot in a westerly direction along Albert Street,’ a spokesman said.
‘There were approximately 20 people inside the synagogue at the time of the incident, taking part in Shabbat.
‘Everyone inside self-evacuated through the rear of the building and were uninjured.’
The man arrested over the synagogue fire faces charges of reckless conduct endangering life, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, criminal damage by fire, and possessing a controlled weapon.
He will front Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.
The arrest comes after police released on Saturday an image of a man they wished to speak to over the alleged arson attack.
Protesters gathered outside Israeli restaurant Miznon on nearby Hardware Lane
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on X there have been too many anti-Semitic attacks in Australia.
‘The Australian government must do more to fight this poisonous disease,’ he said.
Meanwhile Israeli President Isaac Herzog also wrote on the social media platform it was ‘intolerable’ that in 2025, they were still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they prayed and attacks on Jewish businesses.
‘I condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together,’ he said.
Speaking outside the Melbourne synagogue on Sunday morning, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defended legislative efforts to combat hate speech and violence.
‘This government has taken the strongest actions Australia has ever taken in making hate symbols unlawful, in making calls for violence and hate speech to have serious criminal penalties,’ he said.
‘But the job of making sure we eliminate anti-Semitism belongs to every single one of us.’
Burke labelled the arson attack ‘disgusting and cowardly’ and said people should be safe wherever they go in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (pictured) said he was being constantly briefed by ASIO and the Australian Federal Police following the incidents in Melbourne
‘We do not import hatred and violence from overseas to life in Australia,’ he said.
‘Hatred has no place in Australia. Anti-Semitism has no place in Australia. The history of anti-Semitism throughout the world is something where what starts with words rarely ends with words.’
Burke said Victorian Police were leading the investigation into the two incidents.
The attack on the 150-year-old temple in Melbourne was the tenth firebombing the Australian Jewish community had experienced in the past 12 months, according to Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion.
‘If you think about terrorism as creating terror or fear, then yes, it is a form of terrorism,’ he said.
‘This is a pattern of behaviour designed to create fear amongst the Jewish community, which it will not do.’
