There has been another suspected anti-Semitic attack about a week and a half after a terrorist attack during the Jewish festival of lights Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney. In the coastal town Melbourne A rabbi’s car was set on fire that night. There was a Hanukkah sign on the car.
Loud police and Australian media, the vehicle was parked directly in front of the man’s home. Nobody was injured. After the fire, the rabbi and his family were brought to safety.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke of an “incomprehensible” act and once again called for a common fight against hatred and anti-Semitism. “What are these evil ideologies and thoughts that drive someone at a time like this?” he said at a Christmas event in Sydney Australia is traditionally celebrated on December 25th.
The security authorities did not want to commit to a clear motive for the crime. “The criminal investigation department has identified a person who could help with the investigation,” said a police statement quoted by the media. “Investigations into the incident are ongoing.” There was initially no talk of an arrest.
Drastic increase in anti-Semitic crimes
According to Australia’s special representative for the fight against anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic incidents have increased dramatically since the attack on Israel by Palestinian terrorists in October 2023 and the subsequent start of the Gaza war. More than 2,000 cases were reported nationwide in the twelve months alone, including threats, attempts at intimidation, violent attacks and damage to property.
On Sunday last week, two attackers shot at participants in a celebration of the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, on Bondi Beach, killing 15 people. The dead included a ten-year-old child and a Holocaust survivor. Numerous people were injured in the attack, some of them seriously. Australian authorities classified the act as an anti-Semitic attack. Australia According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the attackers were apparently motivated by the ideology of the jihadist militia “Islamic State” (IS).
The megacity of Melbourne in the southern state of Victoria is considered the center of Australia’s Jewish community, which includes around 120,000 people. Many of them accuse the government of serious failures in the fight against anti-Semitism. After the attack in Sydney, Albanese promised a rigorous crackdown on all forms of anti-Semitism in Australia.
