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They Firebombed Our Synagogues — And You Said Nothing
Arsonists heavily damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
A synagogue was set on fire. Again.
Since October 7, Jewish houses of worship have been torched in Germany, France, Australia, Canada, the United States, and beyond. Doors smashed. Entrances doused in accelerants. Molotov cocktails thrown.
You may have missed the stories. Many did. These attacks are too often buried under euphemisms — dismissed as “unrest,” framed as fringe, or worse, justified by the “context.”
Let’s be clear: this isn’t protest. It’s coordinated hate. And our governments are failing in their most basic duty — to protect citizens from violence, incitement, and terror.
On July 4, in Melbourne, Australia, someone poured gasoline across the front of a synagogue and lit it ablaze — while 20 worshippers gathered inside for Shabbat. They survived. But the message was unmistakable: We know who you are. We know where you gather. And we want you afraid.
I’ve seen what happens when the truth is buried — when generations are raised in silence and the reckoning comes too late.
Years ago, my firm merged with a German law firm. One senior partner, raised in a household silent about the Holocaust, only learned the truth at university. That Christmas, he confronted his father:
“What did you do during the war? Which camps did you guard? How many Jews did you kill?”
His father slapped him across the face. They never spoke again.
He carried shame that wasn’t his to bear — but also the conviction that truth must come first. Not silence. Not euphemism. Truth.
And the truth today is this: synagogues are being attacked not because of politics, but because they are Jewish. Because of identity. Because of faith. Because of hate.
This isn’t isolated. As Chair of the American Section of the World Jewish Congress, I hear the same message from Jewish leaders across the globe: our communities are under threat — and we are being left to protect ourselves.
Yes, some governments — including the United States — have provided security funding. But none have met the moment. Not one. Not yet.
That may be starting to change. In recent weeks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi have taken long-overdue steps to align US policy with this moment of crisis. By sanctioning foreign actors who incite antisemitic violence and pursuing domestic accountability for those who cross the line from speech to threat, they’ve shown what serious leadership looks like. It’s not enough — but it’s a start. And it should set the standard for others.
If the state can protect parliaments, embassies, stadiums, and shopping malls, it can protect a synagogue. If antisemitism is real enough to build Holocaust memorials, it is real enough to fund police protection.
Some argue these are simply protests. But when rallies echo with “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea,” let’s not pretend we don’t understand the message. These are not chants for justice. They are incitement to violence — calls to spread terrorism and erase a people. And when left unchecked, they do what incitement has always done: inspire action.
Governments must intervene — and they must act on both fronts.
First, they must prevent. That means enacting and enforcing laws that treat violent hate speech — online and offline — as the public threat it is. It means education systems that inoculate the next generation against antisemitism before it metastasizes into action.
Second, protect. Fund real security at synagogues and schools. Not just fences, but personnel. Not just gestures but guarantees. And when there is an attack — arrest. Prosecute. Punish.
Jewish safety cannot be partisan. It cannot be conditional. It is a baseline measure of whether any nation is serious about the promise of citizenship.
To those who say the line is blurry — who claim these incidents are complicated or contextual — I say: history is watching.
The fires have already started. The Jewish people will endure — we always do. But if governments cannot — or will not — protect their Jewish citizens, they will lose far more than credibility. They will lose the right to claim they ever stood for justice at all.
We don’t ask for favors. We demand protection. And we demand it now.
The author is Chairman, World Jewish Congress, American Section.
The post They Firebombed Our Synagogues — And You Said Nothing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.