Overview

• Australian authorities arrested and charged a 34-year-old man on July 6 for deliberately setting fire to an east Melbourne synagogue during Shabbat.
• About twenty worshippers escaped through a back exit before firefighters extinguished the blaze and no injuries were reported.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labeled the attack “cowardly” and pledged to hold those responsible to account under the law.
• Investigators are examining the suspect’s intentions and beliefs to establish if the incident meets the legal definition of a terrorist act.
• Police are also probing a same-night assault on an Israeli restaurant and antisemitic graffiti on vehicles to assess whether the attacks were coordinated.