Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton label synagogue attack terrorism

Anthony Albanese has labelled the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue a terrorist attack after criticism from the Coalition that the Prime Minister had been too slow to make the obvious connection.

Amid growing concern in Australia’s Jewish community, police will meet in Melbourne on Monday to assess whether to formally designate the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue a terrorist incident.

The synagogue in Ripponlea was badly damaged in an anti-Semitic attack in the early hours of Friday by what police suspect was a trio of young men or teenagers.

Millions of dollars of holy texts, handwritten Torah scrolls, artefacts and furniture were destroyed or badly damaged.

“Quite clearly, terrorism is something that is aimed at creating fear in the community, and the atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community, and therefore, from my personal perspective, certainly fulfil that definition of terrorism,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Perth on Sunday.

Speaking in Tasmania at the same time, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the incident was clearly a terrorist attack.

“If people are attacking a place of worship, a religious gathering point, then we know that that is a terrorist attack, and the Prime Minister hasn’t had the guts to come out and say that, but every Australian knows that’s exactly what’s happened,” he said.

Victoria Police arson and explosives squad detectives are investigating the incident and will liaise closely with other specialist officers including counter-terrorism police, a spokesperson said.

Australian Federal Police will meet the Victorian officers on Monday to work through the technical process for designating the incident a terrorist act, a legal step required to open up Commonwealth support and greater co-operation between security agencies.

Mr Albanese also announced a further $32.5 million in funding for stronger security at Jewish community facilities such as schools and synagogues. This adds to $75 million already allocated.

“People must be allowed to conduct their faith with peace and respect, and there is no place in Australia for anti-Semitism,” he said.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said everyone had a responsibility to fight anti-Semitism.

“This announcement builds on previous support for the Jewish community, including funding for increased security, criminalising doxxing and banning the Nazi salute and hate symbols,” he said.

Mr Dutton said it was unimaginable that people from other faiths would be treated the way Jewish Australians were at the moment.

“I think it’s clear to every Australian that the level of anti-Semitism and hatred that we’re seeing in our community is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

“A place of worship is sacrosanct and people should go to a church or go to a synagogue or a mosque or a temple, wherever it might be, they should be able to practice their religious place freely.”

Cabinet minister Murray Watt said he believed the incident was terrorism, but ultimately the judgment was one for security agencies.

“But whatever we label it, it is an absolute outrage. It should never have happened, and the people responsible have got to be hunted down and pay a price for this,” Senator Watt told Sky News.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen stopped short of calling it terrorism, saying she did not want to prejudice police work, but she did label it “an act of anti-Semitic evil”.

Supporters and members of Melbourne’s large Jewish population gathered for a vigil at a park near the site of the burnt-out synagogue on Sunday.

About 300 people attended, many draped in Israeli flags and others wearing traditional clothing signifying their Judaism.

They included local Federal Labor MP Josh Burns and Liberal senator James Paterson.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne’s CBD, pro-Palestine protesters joined for their 61st protest since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the deadly Hamas attack of October 7 last year.

Speaking to the crowd, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni condemned the attack on the Synagogue, the Herald Sun reported.

“Whoever set fire to that synagogue is a racist, is a fascist, is a Nazi … They are not us,” he said.

“We condemn that act. We stand with our brothers and sisters who are Jewish. Our fight is not with Judaism it’s with Zionism.”

Mr Dutton called again on Mr Albanese to take concrete action to stamp out rising anti-Semitism.

“He said, he said, he said, but he never does. And that’s the problem,” the Liberal leader told Sky News.

“Nobody should be surprised by the fact that (the fire in Melbourne) has happened, which is part of the tragedy.

“The fact is that the Prime Minister took a deliberate decision 13 months ago to play down the level of anti-Semitism in the community, and the government’s policies right up to this very day, have made it less safe for people of Jewish faith in our country.”

His comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used social media to link the attack in Melbourne with Australia’s vote in the UN last week on a resolution calling on Israel to rapidly end its “unlawful presence” in Palestine territories.

“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor government in Australia,” Mr Netanyahu posted on X.

Mr Albanese pointed out that Australia was among 157 countries who backed the UN resolution, including all of the Five Eyes partners bar the US, along with other like-minded nations such as France, Germany and Japan.

Mr Dutton, who met the Israeli leader in July, said the Government had “tarnished our international reputation” and that Foreign Minister Penny Wong should be ashamed.

Senator Watt pointed out that Australia was among 157 countries who backed the UN resolution, including like-minded nations such as the UK, Canada, Germany and Japan.

“I can understand why Mr Netanyahu may have his own reasons for making these types of comments, but I think it’s completely incorrect to label Australia as taking some kind of position that’s out of step with the rest of the world,” he said.

The Prime Minister privately visited a Perth synagogue on Saturday, at what he described as a difficult time and a great celebration of culture.

He also spoke with the president of the Adass synagogue on Friday morning in the aftermath of the fire.