‘We want to bring it back to life, much bigger and better than what it was,’ Dutton says of Adass Israel Synagogue

The Adass Israel Synagogue would be rebuilt with beefed-up security measures to prevent future attacks under a $35m pledge from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has vowed to restore Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue if elected, labelling the move a “symbolic response” to people with “hate in their hearts”.

The Ripponlea synagogue was destroyed in an early morning terror attack in December last year, leaving some worshippers with burns and destroying millions of dollars worth of religious artefacts.

Speaking from the ruins on Monday, Mr Dutton pledged $35m to rebuild the synagogue – one of Australia’s busiest shules.

“We want to bring it back to life, much bigger and better than what it was,” he said.

“Anti-Semitism is not just an issue for the Jewish community, it’s an issue for all Australians.”

Peter Dutton at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea on Monday. Picture: Tony Gough

Adass Israel board member Benjamin Klein said the cost of repairing the synagogue was estimated to be $45m, with $4m covered by insurance and another $6m from fundraising efforts.

The newly built synagogue will have beefed-up security measures in a bid to prevent future similar attacks.

“It’s horrific that it is even necessary,” Mr Dutton said.

“But we have to send a message that this is intolerable.”

Mr Dutton pledged $35m to rebuild the synagogue. Picture: Tony Gough

Two masked offenders remain on the run after setting fire to the synagogue – built by holocaust survivors in the 1950s – in a “clear act of anti-Semitism” on December 6 last year.

No one has yet been arrested over the incident, but Mr Klein said he was confident investigators are doing everything they can.

“(The AFP) have assured us that they are throwing everything they’ve got at it, and a lot of different teams that are involved,” he said.

“There’s a lot of different departments involved including ASIO, counter-terrorism and others. They assured us it’s the number one investigation in the country,” he added.

The synagogue sits in the Labor-held seat of Macnamara, where antisemitism is set to be a key issue for more than 16,000 Jewish voters at the upcoming federal election.

The electorate neighbours the tightly held seats of Goldstein, Chisholm and Kooyong – all which were lost by Liberal MPs in 2022 and will be key to forming a government in May.

Mr Dutton was flanked by the Liberal’s Goldstein candidate Tim Wilson and Macnamara candidate Benson Saulo during the walk-through and update of the synagogue’s restoration.

The $35m pledge builds on the Coalition’s push for minimum mandatory prison sentences for terror offences and the display of hate symbols, which Labor agreed to and passed last month.

If elected, the Coalition has also committed to establish a dedicated Antisemitism Taskforce, led by the Australian Federal Police, to investigate crimes against the Jewish community and refer any visa holders involved in acts of antisemitism for deportation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in December pledged to “do what we need to do to restore this synagogue, including providing whatever support is necessary financially” but has not yet revealed how much his government will provide.

The money would be in addition to a $250,000 grant to replace religiously significant Torah scrolls – ancient handwritten parchment scrolls that hold deep historical meaning to the community – that were damaged in the arson attack.

Originally published as ‘We want to bring it back to life, much bigger and better than what it was,’ Dutton says of Adass Israel Synagogue