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Australia Forms Anti-Hate Task Force After Synagogue Arson and Restaurant Attack Amid Surge in Antisemitism
Anti-Israel protesters in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Matt Hrkac/Wikimedia Commons.
Australia is launching a new anti-hate task force after a synagogue in Melbourne was targeted in an arson attack Friday night while worshippers were inside, amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across the city.
Victoria state Premier Jacinta Allan announced that the newly established task force — made up of state and city officials including Victoria’s police minister and Melbourne’s mayor — will hold its first meeting this week, with Jewish community leaders invited to attend.
As the country faces a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel, the Australian government is ramping up its security response.
As part of broader efforts to curb extremism, officials are looking for expert input while preparing legislation to ban face coverings, the public display of extremist symbols, and protest tools that hinder police enforcement.
“Just as the fire came to the front door here of this synagogue, it was stopped. So too must we put a stop to antisemitism,” Premier Allan told reporters Monday outside the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, where 20 worshippers escaped unharmed during the arson attack.
“Not only does it have no place here in Melbourne and Victoria, it has no place anywhere,” the Australian official declared.
On Saturday night, local authorities arrested a 34-year-old Sydney resident in connection with the Shabbat prayer attack, charging him with multiple offenses, including criminal damage by fire.
In a separate incident on Friday, a group of around 20 protesters stormed a Jewish-owned restaurant, Miznon, in Melbourne’s central business district, vandalizing the property while shouting antisemitic slurs and offensive slogans.
According to local reports, the group chanted, “Death to the IDF,” the Israel Defense Forces, as they approached the restaurant, leaving customers frightened as protesters threw food, smashed windows, and overturned tables.
Shortly after the incident, police took a 28-year-old man into custody but released him pending further investigation as they work to identify other suspects.
On Sunday, Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli sent a letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressing “deep alarm” over the two latest antisemitic attacks in Melbourne, warning they “are not isolated incidents” and calling for urgent action to address the growing threat of antisemitism.
“This alarming climate is unfolding under your government’s watch — and is further legitimized by recent decisions to deny entry to former Israeli Minister Ayelet Shaked and Israel advocate Hillel Fuld. These choices are seen as discriminatory and embolden those who spread hate,” Chikli wrote.
“This is no longer a matter of rising tensions — it is a test of moral leadership,” the Israeli cabinet minister continued. “When synagogues are burned and Jewish businesses attacked in central Melbourne, silence sends a dangerous message: that Jewish safety is negotiable. That message is unacceptable.”
My urgent letter to the PM of Australia, Anthony Albanese:
Subject: Government Inaction Amid Escalating Antisemitism in Australia.
Prime Minister,
I am writing out of deep alarm following a profoundly disturbing weekend in Melbourne.Within hours, two antisemitic attacks… pic.twitter.com/arzo9m4vaX
— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) July 6, 2025
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the two incidents in Melbourne as “reprehensible” and “severe hate crimes.”
“The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community, and we demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future,” Netanyahu said.
In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the “vile arson attack” on Melbourne’s historic synagogue and the violent assault on an Israeli restaurant, urging authorities to ensure the safety of their Jewish citizens.
“It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they pray, and attacks on Jewish businesses,” Herzog said. “This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last.”
“Australian authorities must take all steps necessary to protect their Jewish citizens. Antisemitism is a stain on any society, and must be confronted with urgency and resolve,” the Israeli leader continued.
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. It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 5, 2025
The post Australia Forms Anti-Hate Task Force After Synagogue Arson and Restaurant Attack Amid Surge in Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”