Links emerge between Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing and arson attack on South Yarra’s Lux nightclub

Links have emerged between the Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing and the torching of South Yarra’s Lux nightclub, with arson squad investigators making a wave of arrests on Thursday morning.

A “communal crime car” was used by three masked “cowards” to firebomb the Adass Israel Synagogue days after it was used to torch a nightclub.

The Herald Sun on Thursday revealed that police had been investigating the bizarre link while two men were arrested in relation to the nightclub fire.

A blue Volkswagen Golf sedan was used as a getaway vehicle after the Lux club on Chapel St was torched on November 21 last year.

There is no suspected religious motive for that attack which caused over $10m in damage.

The same blue Volkswagen was then used in the catastrophic terrorist attack on the Ripponlea firebombing 15 days later.

Lux Nightclub on Chapel St in South Yarra went up in flames last November.

It was seen scoping out the premises before three hooded figures set it alight in the early hours of December 6.

The Herald Sun was made aware of the link in the hours after the synagogue fire but chose not to publish as police said it would damage their inquiries.

Arson squad detectives executed three pre-dawn raids in Pakenham resulting in the arrest of two men, aged 22 and 23.

They were being quizzed by detectives in relation to the nightclub fire on Thursday afternoon.

It is not believed the same offenders are responsible for both fires.

The Glen Eira Ave synagogue was set alight 15 days later.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours the destroyed synagogue. Picture: Supplied

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh of the Counter Terrorism Command likened the blue vehicle to a “communal crime car”.

She said it had been used in several other violent crimes, including a drive-by shooting at Bundoora and the firebombing of a car at that address.

The car, which had been stolen from Croydon, has also been used in several aggravated burglaries and petrol thefts across the suburbs.

She said there was a person of interest who appeared to have been managing the use of that stolen car.

“Police believe this car (is) … what I’d call a communal crime car,” she said.

“It’s possible the car’s been driven by several different people and groups to commit these crimes.”

It was seized from a street in Melton in December last year but it appears to have been of little forensic value so far.

The location in which it was found was also of no assistance.

Members of the Jewish community remove religious artefacts from the burnt remains of their Synagogue. Picture: David Caird

Police determined the synagogue fire was an act of terrorism. Picture: Ian Currie

The synagogue attack left Melbourne’s Jewish community devastated and came after a wave of anti-Semitic incidents Australia-wide.

It was declared to be terror-related within days.

A joint taskforce has since been quietly running a complex and painstaking inquiry into who lit the fire and who wanted the arson carried out.

Early morning worshippers who were inside fled as men poured fuel around and ignited it at 4.10am.

No one was injured but the building was wrecked and irreplaceable religious materials were destroyed.

It was a disturbing continuation of a long succession of arsons which began in March, 2023, as gangland players fought for control of Melbourne’s illicit tobacco sector.