Netanyahu Condemns Synagogue Firebombing, Blames Australian Labor’s ‘Anti-Israeli’ Position

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on Sept. 2, 2024. Ohad Zwigenberg/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the Australian Labor government’s backing of a U.N. resolution against Israel for opening the door for an arson attack targeting an ultra-orthodox Jewish synagogue.

Two people were injured and had to flee the Melbourne-based Adass Israel Synagogue on Dec. 6 after two masked assailants firebombed it.

Netanyahu’s comments are the most direct criticism of the Australian leadership so far from Israel, and follow months of brewing antisemitism in overseas communities in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

On the flipside, reports also suggest a rise in Islamaphobia.

Israeli Prime Minister Blames Labor

Netanyahu linked the fire to the Labor government’s recent decision to support a pro-Palestinian resolution at the United Nations General Assembly with allies like Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

“The burning of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne is an abhorrent act of antisemitism. I expect the state authorities to use their full weight to prevent such antisemitic acts in the future,” Netanyahu said on X.

“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor government in Australia, including the scandalous decision to support the U.N. resolution calling on Israel ’to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible,' and preventing a former Israeli minister from entering the country.

“Anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism.”

What Happened at the Synagogue?

In the early hours of Dec. 6, Victorian firefighters received a triple zero call alerting them to a blaze at a synagogue in Melbourne’s east.

Workers assess the damage at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia on Dec. 6, 2024. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

After arriving at the scene at 4.18 a.m. to find the single-story building “fully involved in fire,” 17 fire trucks and 60 firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Two people were evacuated from the scene and treated for minor injuries, a Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson told the Epoch Times.

Victorian Police confirmed in a statement to the Epoch Times that they were still investigating the incident.

Victorian Police also they were still working to establish the exact circumstances of the fire and believe it was a targeted incident, calling for anyone with information or CCTV footage to come forward.

“Police will conduct additional patrols around the synagogue and surrounding areas. We also continue to work closely with the Jewish community to provide reassurance,” the police said.

Later in the day, worshippers were allowed into the synagogue to retrieve items.

Incidentally, the synagogue’s ultra-orthodox position means it does not entirely align with Zionism, the belief in a Jewish state.

Members of the Synagogue recover items from the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia on Dec. 6, 2024. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Israeli President Speaks to Anthony Albanese

Israeli President Isaac Herzog had spoken to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following the synagogue fire.

“I spoke now with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and expressed my firm condemnation of the horrific arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Australia,” he said on X.

Herzog said there had been an intolerable wave of attacks on Jewish communities in Australia and around the world since Oct.7, 2023.

“I noted to the prime minister that this rise and the increasingly serious antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community required firm and strong action, and that this was a message that must be heard clearly from Australia’s leaders,” Herzog said.

Prime Minister Albanese described the attack on the synagogue as a “shocking incident” and said it should be unequivocally condemned.”

“There is no place in Australia for an outrage such as this. To attack a place of worship is an attack on Australian values. To attack a synagogue is an act of antisemitism, is attacking the right that all Australians should have to practice their faith in peace and security,” he told reporters.

Albanese said “antisemitism has been on the rise” and pledged to “call it out wherever we see it.”

Labor Minister Disagrees with Netanyahu

Following Netanyahu’s post to X, Labor Minister Murray Watt said he “respectively disagrees ”with the Israeli prime minister and defended Australia’s position at the U.N.

“Ever since the horrific Oct. 7 attacks, the Albanese government has taken a range of strong actions to stand against anti-semitism and to stamp it out,” he said in an ABC report.

“Our government has absolutely zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.”

Watt said Australia “stood with 156 other countries in supporting that resolution as another step towards gaining peace in the Middle East.”

The U.N. resolution (pdf) calls for Israel to end its “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible.”

It also called for the recognition of the “inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent state.”

Eight nations voted against the motion including Israel, the United States, and the Javier Milei-led Argentina. The Ukraine was one of multiple nations that abstained.

Anti-Semitism Rising Dramatically: Federal Opposition

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said anti-semitism in Australia had risen dramatically since Oct.7, describing it as “deplorable.”

“The anti-semitism has no place in our society. Racism of any nature should be absolutely abhorred and condemned,” said on Dec. 6. 

“What I want in the Middle East is peace. We’re not going to allow that if we have terrorist organisations given support. In our country, the level of anti-semitism is a national disgrace and we should be doing everything we can to stamp it out because we wouldn’t treat any other person the way that we’re treating the Jewish community at the moment.”

In fact, Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay has pointed to numerous examples of anti-semitism since the Hamas terror attacks.

“We have all seen the footage of the protesters at the Sydney Opera House, are aware of the doxxing that saw the personal information of 600 Jewish Australians leaked from a private WhatsApp group, and saw pro-Palestinian activists choosing to demonstrate inside a Melbourne hotel where relatives of Israeli hostages were staying,” she wrote in an opinion piece.

Just last week, a man was charged for a vandalism spree in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs, home to the city’s largest Jewish community.

State Leader Pledges Funds to Rebuild, Bolster Security

At the state level, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the attack on the synagogue as an act of anti-semitism which must clearly be condemned in the strongest possible terms and rejected.

“We all stand here today to condemn in the strongest possible terms this hateful, violent attack on a beautiful peaceful place of worship, a place of study, the beating heart of the Adass Israel community here in Melbourne,” she told reporters.

Her government has pledged $100,000 for reconstruction efforts for the synagogue, and a $1 million to bolster security around the state of Jewish events.

Meanwhile, Victorian Liberal Leader John Pesutto said nothing justified the destruction of a place of worship and those responsible should face the full force of the law.

“The Liberals and Nationals stand with our Jewish community at this difficult time and support Victoria Police to find those responsible and bring them to justice.”