{"id":88643,"date":"2025-07-05T14:22:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T19:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=88643"},"modified":"2025-07-07T01:22:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T06:22:30","slug":"israeli-jewish-leaders-slam-arson-restaurant-attacks-in-melbourne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/israeli-jewish-leaders-slam-arson-restaurant-attacks-in-melbourne\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli, Jewish leaders slam arson, restaurant attacks in Melbourne"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JNS STAFF<\/p>\n<p>(<em>JNS.org<\/em>) \u2013 Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar strongly condemned two \u201cvile antisemitic attacks\u201d in Melbourne on Friday\u2014an arson attack on the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue and \u201ctargeted violence\u201d at an Israeli restaurant named Miznon.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_88644\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88644\" class=\"wp-image-88644 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-1536x1151.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-2048x1534.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88644\" class=\"wp-image-88644 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-1536x1151.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Little_Burke_St_entrance_to_Hardware_Lane_Dec_2012-2048x1534.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-88644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hardware Lane entrance near location of Miznon Restaurant in Melbourne. (Photo by Nick-D via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIsrael stands firmly with the Jewish community in Australia,\u201d Sa\u2019ar posted on X. \u201cThere have been too many antisemitic attacks in Australia. The Australian government must do more to fight this poisonous disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Israel\u2019s minister for Diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, called the incidents \u201ca blazing red light.\u201d He tied them to incitement heard last week at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/bbc-revises-guidelines-after-glastonbury-broadcast-sparks-outrage\/\">Glastonbury<\/a>&nbsp;music festival in the U.K.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWords chanted at music festivals: \u2018Death to IDF soldiers\u2019 become violent acts the next day. We\u2019ve seen this movie before. We must not let it play again,\u201d Chikli&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AmichaiChikli\/status\/1941548500615036938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote&nbsp;<\/a>on X.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria police said they were hunting an arsonist who set fire on Friday night to the Melbourne synagogue with some 20 people, including children, having Shabbat dinner inside. They said he had poured flammable liquid on the front door of the building and torched it before fleeing. They said everyone inside was able to evacuate from the back and no one was hurt.<\/p>\n<p>Fire crews were summoned to extinguish the blaze, which was contained to the front entrance. Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan said, \u201cThis was clearly a targeted fire and we will not accept any acts of antisemitism or hate-based crime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Police released a CCTV image of a man described as being of Caucasian descent and aged in his mid-30s. He has a beard and long hair and was seen wearing dark clothing.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate incident, a group of 20 protestors stormed and trashed an Israeli restaurant on Hardware Street in Melbourne\u2019s central business district, the&nbsp;<em>9News&nbsp;<\/em>website reported.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses said the group was chanting \u201cDeath to the IDF\u201d before it arrived at the restaurant, and diners were fearful as the group threw food and chairs at windows and knocked over tables.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media-oembed-video\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" title=\"X Post\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=JNS_org&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1941403130974830834&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fisraeli-jewish-leaders-slam-arson-restaurant-attacks-in-melbourne%2F&amp;sessionId=43338782bae1e074bd760956ef39b6830cbe3e28&amp;siteScreenName=JNS_org&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1941403130974830834\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Police arrested a 28-year-old and later released him, as an investigation was opened to identify the offenders.<\/p>\n<p>Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin called the attacks&nbsp;<strong>\u201c<\/strong>a severe escalation directed toward our community,\u201d saying, \u201cWe urge all sides of politics and all Australians to condemn these deplorable crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ryvchin added, \u201cThose who chant for death are not peace activists. Those who would burn houses of prayer with families inside do not seek an end to war. Those responsible cannot be reasoned with or appeased. They must be confronted with the full force of the law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/antisemitic-incidents-quadrupled-in-australia-in-2024\/\">Australia<\/a>&nbsp;experienced a fourfold increase in documented antisemitic incidents in 2024\u2014the steepest rise among English-speaking countries with available data\u2014according to the \u201cJ7 Annual Report on Antisemitism 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/netanyahu-ties-melbourne-shul-attack-to-labor-governments-extreme-anti-israelism\/\">Netanyahu<\/a> issued a statement in Hebrew following the attack that his Government Press Office translated into English: &#8220;I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters,&#8221; the prime minister said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of &#8216;Death to the IDF&#8217; and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu promised that he State of Israel would continue to stand with and support the Australian Jewish community. &#8220;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,&#8221; he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu slammed the torching of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne back on Dec. 6, 2024, suggesting that the antisemitic act was inextricably linked to the Labor government in Canberra\u2019s \u201cextreme anti-Israelism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel posted on X a day after the latest Melbourne attacks, \u201cThe horrifying attacks overnight on a synagogue and an Israeli business in Melbourne are yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She continued, \u201cTargeting Jewish houses of worship and an Israeli restaurant is terrorism, aimed at intimidating an entire community simply because of their religion and identity. These attacks are not just assaults on Jews or Israelis \u2014they are assaults on Australian values of tolerance, diversity and freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Expressing her \u201cfull solidarity\u201d with the Jewish community in Melbourne and all those impacted, Haskel said, \u201cIsrael stands with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She concluded, \u201cLet me be clear: these attacks are happening because, for too long, there have been no real consequences for those spreading hate and inciting violence. Weakness and silence only embolden the extremists. There is no justification\u2014ever\u2014for violence and hatred directed at Jews, Israelis or any minority. The perpetrators of this terrorism must be brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Israeli%2C%20Jewish%20leaders%20slam%20arson%2C%20restaurant%20attacks%20in%20Melbourne\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":88644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,27],"tags":[255,208,8790,8795,2463,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88645,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88643\/revisions\/88645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}