As an arsonist set fire to a synagogue, children played inside, metres from the flames

Small children were playing metres away from the front door of a Melbourne synagogue that was torched on Friday night in what political and Jewish community leaders have denounced as a despicable, antisemitic attack.

Witnesses who were inside the East Melbourne synagogue at the time of the attack by a lone arsonist describe how the child of one of the congregants was the first to see and smell smoke coming through the bottom of the door about 8pm.

Rabbi Dovid Gutnick stands outside the charred front door of the East Melbourne synagogue on Saturday morning.Credit: Aaron Francis

Toddlers were playing throughout the synagogue while Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, synagogue president Danny Segal and congregants who had earlier attended the service sat down to Shabbat dinner in a hall at the rear of the building.

Gutnick said this was the usual Friday night scene at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest places of worship and the only synagogue located on the edge of the CBD.

“There were children right here in the synagogue playing – two-year-old kids,” he said.

“This is a family synagogue. There were families here. That is the really scary thing. They could have opened the door to a person who clearly had bigger plans.”

There were about 20 people inside the building when the fire was lit. None were injured by the attack.

Gutnick has viewed security footage of the attack and said it showed one unidentified attacker using accelerant to set fire to the front door of the Albert Street synagogue. He said the attacker appeared well-prepared, and the attack planned.

He said local firefighters, who were alerted by a passerby before anyone inside the synagogue was aware of the fire, reacted quickly and contained the flames before they spread through the heritage building.

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Segal, the synagogue president, described the firefighters’ and police response as “incredible”.

“It showed care,” he said.

Segal’s wife, Jenny, said political leaders had not done enough to stop the anti-Israel protest movement from inflaming anti-Jewish sentiment.

“I just feel that the government has let us down by not putting a stop to it earlier – all these demonstrations and anti-Israel sentiment,” she said.

“It is not Australian, it is not on, and I can’t believe it has got this far. It could have been stopped if something was done earlier.

“We come here, we pray, we spread love and unity. They spread hate and violence.”

Gutnick said it was unclear what connection, if any, the arsonist has to the broader protest movement, which is due to stage one of its regular pro-Palestine rallies in the city on Sunday.

“We don’t know who targeted us. It may be related. It may be completely unrelated. We are unsure about what connections there might be. But there is kind of a pall or some type of darkness hovering at the moment.”

Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, speaking outside the synagogue on Saturday morning, said that while the motivation for the attack and another at an Israeli restaurant in the CBD would be investigated by police, he believed that part of the protest movement had morphed into something more sinister.

The East Melbourne Synagogue, one of Australia’s oldest, was set alight about 8pm on Friday.Credit: Today

“I do think there are elements of this protest which have mutated and is now perpetrating these terrible acts,” he said.

“This is the act of a very small number of people, I do think we need to remind ourselves of that, but that doesn’t mean it is not a terrible and vile act. All of us as a community need to stand up against it.”

Reece pointed out that despite the horrific nature of Russia’s war against Ukraine, there had been no attacks on Russian Orthodox churches in Melbourne. “This is antisemitism, this is racism in its most vile form,” he said.

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Premier Jacinta Allan said the attacks were designed to traumatise Jewish families.

“Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate, and any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism,” she said.

“There should be no hesitation in calling this what it is. It is disgraceful behaviour by a pack of cowards.”

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