A man was charged Sunday over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation of antisemitic violence in Australia.<\/b>
\nA man was charged Sunday over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation of antisemitic violence in Australia\u2019s second-most populous city.
Angelo Loras, 34, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court Sunday charged with arson, endangering life and property damage. He was also charged with possessing a \u201ccontrolled weapon\u201d on Saturday when he was arrested. The charge sheet does not say what that weapon was.
The Sydney resident did not enter a plea or apply to be released on bail. Magistrate John Lesser remanded Loras in custody to appear in court next on July 22.
Flammable liquid was ignited at the door of the East Melbourne Synagogue, also known as the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, on Friday night as 20 worshippers shared a Shabbat meal inside.
The congregation escaped without harm via a rear door and firefighters contained the blaze to the entrance area of the 148-year-old building.
Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, who was inside the synagogue with his family on Friday, said security cameras showed the perpetrator ringing the doorbell twice moments before the flames erupted.
Gutnick\u2019s 13-year-old son was in the synagogue office at the time and decided against opening the door after seeing the visitor on the security camera monitor.
\u201cWe use the security cameras to assess people who ring the doorbell. Generally, we don\u2019t hesitate to let someone in,\u201d Gutnick told The Associated Press.
\u201cMy son hesitated and didn\u2019t answer. By the time I came to the front, there was already smoke and flames coming in under the door,\u201d he added.
It was the first of three apparent displays of antisemitic violence across the city on Friday and early Saturday morning.
Authorities have yet to establish a link between incidents at the synagogue and two businesses.
Also in downtown Melbourne on Friday night, around 20 masked protesters harassed diners in an Israeli-owned restaurant.
A restaurant window was cracked, tables were flipped and chairs thrown as protesters chanted \u201cDeath to the IDF,\u201d referring to the Israel Defense Forces. A 28-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and charged with hindering police.
Police are also investigating the spray-painting of a business in Melbourne\u2019s northern suburbs and an arson attack on three vehicles attached to the business before dawn on Saturday. The vehicles had also been graffitied.
Police said there were antisemitic \u201cinferences\u201d at the scene. The business had also been the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past year.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke met with Jewish leaders at the damaged synagogue on Sunday.
Burke told reporters that investigators were searching for potential links between the three incidents.
\u201cAt this stage, our authorities have not drawn links between them. But obviously there\u2019s a link in antisemitism. There\u2019s a link in bigotry. There\u2019s a link in a willingness to either call for violence, to chant violence or to take out violent actions. They are very much linked in that way,\u201d Burke said.
\u201cThere were three attacks that night and none of them belonged in Australia. Arson attacks, the chanting calls for death, other attacks and graffiti \u2013 none of it belonged in Australia and they were attacks on Australia,\u201d Burke added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Australian government to \u201ctake all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.\u201d
\u201cI 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,\u201d Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday.
\u201cThe reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of \u2018death to the IDF\u2019 and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n