Australia condemns arson attack on the synagogue in Melbourne

Sydney: Australian authorities condemned on Saturday that what they had said was a arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshipers in the building, which is the latest in a group of incidents against the country’s Jewish community.Police said in a statement that a fire broke out at the entrance of the synagogue east of Victoria’s state capital. The firefighters extinguished the blast and there was no injury to 20 people inside.One of the recent anti-Jewish incidents in Australia, this attack, comes after another synagogue in Melbourne after seven months, targeted by arson, who began an explosion that was injured and caused widespread damage.Victoria Premier Jacinta Alan said on Saturday that it was “absolutely frightening” that another Jewish synagogue was attacked. Allen said in a statement, “Any attack at the place of Pooja is a task of hate, and any attack at a Jewish place of worship is an anti-Jewish task.”Police said they were confident that the attack, in which the flammable liquid was put on the front door of the synagogue and was carried out by a male suspect. They have not been identified, but are considered white and old in the 30s. Police said, “There is no place in our society for anti-Jewish or hatred-based behavior.” Australian Jew’s Executive Council co-CEO Alex Rivechin, a Umbrella Group for the Jews of Australia, said in a statement that the fire broke out as the people inside had sat for Shabbat dinner. Officials said they were investigating whether the attack was involved in an incident in an internal city restaurant on Friday night in which a person was arrested for obstructing the police. The Israeli restaurant was largely damaged in the incident.(This is a Reuters Story)