A man was charged on Sunday in Melbourne for setting a synagogue on fire, in what appears to be a rise in antisemitic violence in the country’s second-most populous city.
Angelo Loras, 34, was charged with arson, endangering life, and causing property damage when he appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday. When he was taken into custody on Saturday, he was also accused of having a regulated weapon. The nature of such weapon is not specified on the charge sheet.
The inhabitant of Sydney did not request bail or enter a plea. Loras was remanded in detention by Magistrate John Lesser to appear in court on July 22.
As 20 congregants ate a Shabbat meal inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, also called the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, flammable liquid was set ablaze at the door on Friday night.
Firefighters limited the fire to the church’s entrance area, and the congregation managed to escape safely by a rear door. The edifice is 148 years old.
It was the first of three alleged acts of antisemitic violence that occurred throughout the city on Friday and the early hours of Saturday.
Two businesses and occurrences at the synagogue have not yet been connected by authorities.
Attacks against businesses are attributed to antisemitism.
On Friday night, some 20 masked demonstrators harassed patrons of an Israeli-owned restaurant in downtown Melbourne.
As demonstrators screamed “Death to the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces, a restaurant window was broken, tables were overturned, and chairs were flung. At the scene, a 28-year-old woman was taken into custody and accused of obstructing law enforcement.
Additionally, before dawn on Saturday, police are looking into the spray painting of a business in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and the arson assault on three vehicles connected to the business. Additionally, the cars had been vandalized.
There were antisemitic overtones at the scene, according to the police. Over the past year, pro-Palestinian protests had also targeted the company.
Leaders in politics denounce antisemitism
On Sunday, Jewish leaders and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke gathered at the destroyed synagogue.
Investigators were looking for possible connections between the three instances, Burke told reporters.
Our authorities have not yet established any connections between them. However, there is clearly a connection to antisemitism. Bigotry is a contributing factor. There is a connection between the willingness to incite violence, chant violence, or engage in violent acts. According to Burke, they are closely related in that regard.
None of the three attacks that occurred that evening were appropriate for Australia. Burke went on to say that the graffiti, chants calling for death, arson attacks, and other forms of violence were all attacks on Australia and had no place there.
The Australian government was urged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do everything within its power to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and stop future acts of this nature.
Netanyahu stated in a statement on Saturday that he takes the antisemitic acts that took place in Melbourne last night, including the violent attack on an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters and the attempted destruction of a synagogue in the city, very seriously.
He went on to say that the heinous antisemitic acts, which included threats of death to the IDF and an attempt to attack a house of worship, are serious hate crimes that need to be stopped.
