Anthony Albanese reaffirms support for rebuilding a Melbourne firebombed Adass synagogue

Anthony Albanese fulfilled his promise to Melbourne’s Adass Israel community to visit their school on Monday, reaffirming the government’s commitment to rebuild their synagogue after it was destroyed in a firebombing attack.

Anthony Albanese visits the Adass Israel School in Victoria with Josh Burns MP. Picture: PMO / Instagram

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Anthony Albanese fulfilled his promise to Melbourne’s Adass Israel community to visit their school on Monday, reaffirming the government’s commitment to rebuild their synagogue after it was destroyed in a firebombing attack in December last year.

Joined by Labor MP Josh Burns, the Prime Minister was welcomed by students and community leaders at the Adass Israel School who took them on a walk-through of the school and child care centre.

Mr Burns took to Instagram to share details of the visit, praising the community for their resilience.

“Despite the destruction and loss which has shaken their community, they remain proud of who they are,” he said.

“When the Prime Minister visited the Adass Israel community after their beloved synagogue was destroyed in a vile act of terror and hate, he made them a promise. He said he would come and visit the school as part of our commitment to rebuild their synagogue and hall.

“Today we reaffirm our commitment to rebuild their synagogue, stronger than ever before.”

Campaign Director for the Adass Israel Synagogue Chayim Klein said the visit was “absolutely phenomenal”.

“The Prime Minister made a commitment to visit our school at our last meeting and he today kept that commitment. It was absolutely phenomenal,” he said.

“It was an amazing experience for both the Prime Minister and the children. The kids were starstruck.”

Mr Klein extended his gratitude to Mr Albanese, Mr Burns and their staff calling the outpouring of support for their community “heartwarming”.

“We are really grateful they took the time to visit us, at the same time they re-affirmed their support for our community. It was very heartwarming to hear.”

Mr Albanese previously vowed to help rebuild the Melbourne synagogue during a “very emotional” visit to the site on December 10 last year.

Most recent estimates for the cost of rebuilding the synagogue sit between $25m and $40m, with the building requiring state-of-the-art security systems, including cameras, bollards and guards, to prevent future attacks.

The police investigation into the firebombing remains ongoing with the attack being treated as an act of terrorism.

This comes as senate estimates revealed Mr Albanese hasn’t spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since April 2024.

Under questioning by Coalition senators over whether the Prime Minister had spoken to the Israeli leader following a video emerging of two Bankstown nurses saying they would kill Israeli patients, officials from the Prime Minister and Cabinet confirmed it had been nearly a year since they had spoken. .

“The last time the Prime Minister spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu was in April last year,” PMC First Assistant Secretary Pablo Kang said.

Mr Kang confirmed Mr Albanese had last spoken to the Israel President Isaac Herzog on December 6, 2024.