Australian police have charged a man in connection with the alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, which was filled with worshippers, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the country's Jewish community, Reuters reports.
There were no injuries among the 20 people inside a synagogue who escaped a fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of the Australian state of Victoria.
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Australia has experienced several anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the war between Israel and Gaza in October 2023, according to Reuters.
Counter-terrorism detectives have arrested a 34-year-old resident of Sydney, the capital of the neighboring state of New South Wales, charging him with criminal offences including causing damage by fire, police said.
"A man allegedly poured flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene," police said in a statement.
The suspect, whose identity authorities declined to say, was remanded in custody after being heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no bail application was made, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.
Authorities are investigating whether a synagogue fire is linked to a riot on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, where one person was arrested for obstructing police.
The restaurant was significantly damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella group for Australian Jews.
The fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne's oldest, is said to have been set while people were sitting inside for a Shabbat dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog took to social media to "openly condemn the heinous arson attack targeting Jews at Melbourne's historic and oldest synagogue on Saturday, and at an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together."
"This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last," Hercog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as "serious hate crimes" that he viewed "with the utmost seriousness."
"The State of Israel will continue to stand with the Australian Jewish community," Netanyahu said on the X Network.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late Saturday described the alleged arson, which came seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by an arsonist, as shocking and said those responsible should face the full force of the law.
"My government will provide all necessary support to this effort," Albanese posted on the X network.
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