Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denounced a suspicious blaze that tore through a Melbourne synagogue as a violent act of antisemitism aimed at creating fear in the community.
Fire crews were called to the Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea in Melbourne's south-east shortly after 4am and found a large fire burning through the building.
Early-morning worshippers inside the synagogue reported seeing two masked men throw fuel inside the premises, before setting it alight.
"There was some banging on a door with some liquid thrown inside and was lit alight, the few people inside the synagogue ran outside the back door, one of them got burnt," Adass Israel Synagogue board member Benjamin Klein said.
"The whole place took alight pretty quickly."
He believed the fire had destroyed "a huge amount of furniture and holy books and Torah scrolls".
"It's quite horrendous and the community is really reeling from it," he said.
"This is the focal point of the community, the jewel in the crown of the community and to see it lying burnt and in ruins is quite horrendous.
"Whilst we don't know what happened and why this happened, we really have no idea at the moment, at the same time … people should just live and let live."
Yumi Friedman was inside the building and said he heard "a big bang like a sledgehammer" before a window was smashed, sending "glass flying".
Friedman said another worshipper saw two men wearing balaclavas outside the property. Police also said they had received a similar report from a witness.
Friedman said his hand was burnt when he tried to return to the synagogue and open a door.
"It is shocking that here in Australia there's such antisemitism," he said.
Prime Minister describes attack as 'an outrage'
The Prime Minister, along with other political leaders and Jewish community advocates have expressed their dismay over the incident.
Albanese said he was briefed on the blaze this morning by the Australian Federal Police commissioner, who said there were two persons of interest in the incident.
"What was witnessed was them using accelerant and then spreading it with a broom, clearly designed to maximise the damage that could occur," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Albanese said police are examining CCTV footage to try and identify the suspects.
"It's a terrible morning to wake up to this news, which all Australians should unequivocally condemn," he said.
"This is clearly an act of antisemitism. It's an attack on a place of worship so by definition it's an act of hate.
"This is an outrage. The violence and intimidation and destruction of a place of worship is something that we should never see in Australia."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also condemned the "abhorrent" attack on a place of worship.
"Today we should double down on our support of the Jewish community, who will be feeling this very acutely," he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan said the synagogue, built by Holocaust survivors, should be a refuge of "peace, prayer and safety".
She said she had spoken to the state's police commissioner and "every available resource" was being deployed to find those responsible.
"We stand with the entire Jewish community who have every right to go to shule, pray openly, and be proud of who they are - without fearing personal consequences," Allan said.
"And we stand against antisemitism, now and forever."
Police hunt two masked people believed to be behind 'targeted' attack
Detective Inspector Chris Murray from the Arson and Explosives Squad said it appeared to be an intentional attack.
"A witness who was attending morning prayers has entered the synagogue and upon entering has seen two individuals wearing masks. They appeared to be spreading accelerant of some type inside the premises," he said.
"We believe it was deliberate. We believe it has been targeted. What we don't know is why and we'll get to the why."
Detective Inspector Murray was confronted by a member of the Jewish community while he spoke to reporters at the scene of the fire.
The community member interjected several times and questioned whether police were doing enough to combat antisemitism.
"When are you going to say enough is enough?" he said.
Detective Inspector Murray said police were taking the incident seriously and would increase patrols in the area.
"All I can say is we're going to be out, we're going to be visible and we will be investigating this with all the resources we can commit," he said.
'We've known this has been coming', Jewish group says
Standing outside the synagogue, Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion called the incident "a tragic day for the Australian-Jewish community".
"None of the Jewish community is surprised. We've known this has been coming," he said.
Naomi Levin, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria chief executive, said the community had a right to live "as proud Australians and proud Jewish people".
She said some of the religious texts feared destroyed were handwritten on parchment.
"They take roughly a year to complete and are valued by our community beyond other material items," Levin said.
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the attack appeared to a "shocking escalation" of documented antisemitism in Australia in recent months.
"No one should be surprised; this violent attack is a direct consequence of words turning into actions. Jew-hatred, left unchecked, endangers all Australians," he said.
"Enough is enough, this is a stain on our nation. It's time for all levels of government to turn their words into actions to stamp out this Jew-hatred."
In a statement, the co-presidents of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum called the fire "a deeply disquieting event for our local Jewish and the national Australian community".
Dozens of firefighters battled to contain blaze
Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) Brayden Sinnamon said dozens of firefighters attended the scene and brought the blaze under control within half an hour.
"FRV crews worked tirelessly to bring it under control and approximately 17 appliances and 60 firefighters were on scene," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"Damage to the building is quite a lot, however crews worked amazingly to contain the fire so that no further damage was done to the extensions or other neighbouring buildings."
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined and an arson chemist would visit the site.
-ABC