Prime Minster Anthony Albanese says Melbourne synagogue firebombing is terrorism after two days

After two days of calls for the Prime Minister to label the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue an act of terrorism, he told reporters his personal opinion was that it should be declared one.

The firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne has finally been labelled an act of terrorism by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after two days of criticism and mounting pressure over his reluctance to describe the attack as such.

“My personal opinion is yes (it is terrorism), but there is a technical process,” the Prime Minister said from Perth, where he was on the third-day of a Western Australian blitz.

He said authorities would meet Monday to decide whether to officially designate the Friday firebombing as an act of terrorism.

“Tomorrow, the Victorian police and the Australian Federal Police will be having a meeting,” he said.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said he believed it to be an act of terrorism. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“There is a technical process that is agreed in the protocols for designating an event as a terrorist act. That meeting is taking place tomorrow.

“But if you want my personal view quite clearly, terrorism is something that is aimed at creating fear in the community and the atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community.

“And therefore, from my personal perspective, (the act) certainly fulfil(s) that definition of terrorism.”

The fire which damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne at Ripponlea in Melbourne

His comments come the day after former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg demanded the Prime Minister call the attack an act of terror.

Fire fighters gather at the scene of a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 6, 2024. Picture: AFP

It’s a strengthening of language from the Prime Minister, who on Saturday evening released a statement calling the attack “anti-Semitic” and “un-Australian”.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton on Sunday morning savaged the firebombing not being described as terrorism by the government, ahead of Mr Albanese’s comments.

“This is an act of terrorism, pure and simple, and I think the Prime Minister’s deliberate decision to seek political advantage over the course of last 12 months on this issue and play to a domestic audience of Green voters, I think, has been deplorable and one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in public life,” he said.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “step up” after the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne on Friday. Picture: SKY News

Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton savaged the PM’s response earlier on Sunday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese on Sunday also announced there would be a second round of the Enhancing Security for Jewish Communities program, with $32.5 million in funding over the next 18 months, while outlining other steps his government had tried to curb anti-Semitism.

“We’ve had a landmark ban on the Nazi salute and hate symbols that came into effect in January of this year. We’ve appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first ever envoy on anti-Semitism. We have criminalised doxing in legislation that was passed just a week ago as part of our privacy laws legislation, I might say that was opposed by the Liberal and National parties in the House of Representatives and in the Senate,” he said.

“We were there unequivocally condemning the attacks on October 7th. The following day, I called for the rally that was planned for the Sydney Opera House to not go ahead. We call out every action of anti-Semitism when we see it.

“There has been a worrying rise in anti-Semitism, but we call it out and we call it out consistently, and we work with the community to work through these issues.”