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Historic Australia Synagogue Vandalized Twice Amid Rising Antisemitism Fueled by Mideast Tensions
Vandals defaced the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australia on June 22, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
A historic synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, was defaced twice in one day over the weekend, the latest in a surge of antisemitic incidents as anti-Israel sentiment grows nationwide amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
According to local police, an unknown individual spray-painted offensive graffiti on the walls of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on Sunday afternoon. Despite its removal, the building was targeted again later that evening by unidentified offenders.
Vandals defaced the heritage-listed synagogue with graffiti reading “Iran is da bomb” and “Free Palestine,” less than 12 hours after the United States joined Israel in a coordinated airstrike operation targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the heavily fortified Fordow site.
Iran has also been the chief backer of Hamas for years, providing the Palestinian terrorist group with weapons, funding, and training.
“There is absolutely no place at all in our society for antisemitic or hate-based symbols and behavior,” Melbourne’s police spokesperson said in a statement.
Local law enforcement has launched an investigation into the incident and is urging anyone with information to come forward.
Australia’s Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) condemned the disturbing attack, calling it the latest in a rising wave of anti-Jewish incidents targeting the local Jewish community since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — an escalation that has continued amid the ongoing war between the Jewish state and Iran.
“This was not random. It was a calculated attempt to intimidate Jewish Australians,” Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the ADC, said in a statement.
“An attack on a synagogue is an attack on every church, mosque, and temple. It’s an assault on religious freedom and the right to live without fear,” he continued.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan also condemned the attack, describing it as “disgraceful” and urging residents to stay united, cautioning against letting international conflicts fuel division within Australian communities.
In a press release, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) denounced the incident as a “vile antisemitic attack” and a “direct assault on the Jewish community.”
“This shocking act of hate reminds us that no community is immune to antisemitism,” CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said in a statement. “We commend the mayor of Melbourne and the city’s leadership for their swift response and unwavering commitment to standing with the Jewish community.”
“But goodwill alone is not enough — we need a unified, coordinated response from mayors across the country. Every local leader has a duty to act with courage and clarity,” he continued. “We must equip cities with the resources they need to confront hate, not just react to it. What happened in Melbourne must not be normalized.”
Antisemitism spiked to record levels in Australia — especially in Sydney and Melbourne, which are home to some 85 percent of the country’s Jewish population — following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities.
According to a report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the country’s Jewish community experienced over 2,000 antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024, a significant increase from 495 in the prior 12 months.
The number of antisemitic physical assaults in Australia rose from 11 in 2023 to 65 in 2024. The level of antisemitism for the past year was six times the average of the preceding 10 years.
The post Historic Australia Synagogue Vandalized Twice Amid Rising Antisemitism Fueled by Mideast Tensions 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.