‘Extreme’: Israeli PM slams Australia after arson attack on Melbourne synagogue

The Israeli Prime Minister has made an extraordinary claim about Australia after a Melbourne synagogue was firebombed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an extraordinary attack on the Albanese government, claiming its “extreme anti-Israel position” caused the arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue.

Early morning worshippers were forced to flee as the Adass Israel synagogue was firebombed on Friday.

In footage of the incident, flames and thick pillars of smoke can be seen climbing into the sky as police surround the streets and firefighters battled for 40 minutes to contain the blaze.

Police allege two men wearing masks were seen spreading an accelerant inside the synagogue.

A fire has damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne at Ripponlea in Melbourne

Now Mr Netanyahu claimed the “abhorrent act of anti-Semitism” was tied to the government’s treatment of Israel, reported the Herald Sun.

“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israel position of the Labor government in Australia,” he said.

Mr Netanyahu pointed to the Australian government’s “scandalous decision” to support a United Nations resolution that called on Israel to “bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible”.

He also singled out the government’s decision to refuse a visa to former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked over her commentary on the war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Picture: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/AFP

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has defended rejecting the visa of Ms Shaked over comments she made comparing Palestinian children to snakes, and claims Palestinian-occupied areas of Israel should be levelled.

The right-wing former justice minister was slated to attend the Canberra-Jerusalem Strategic Dialogue, however Mr Burke rejected her application on the grounds she had the potential to “seriously undermine social cohesion”.

Mr Albanese said the violence and destruction at a place of worship was an outrage.

“I unequivocally condemn the attack on a Melbourne synagogue early this morning,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.

“I have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism. It has absolutely no place in Australia.

“The people involved must be caught and face the full force of the law.”

Police and fire crews mop up after a fire at a synagogue at East St Kilda. The Adass Israel Synagogue, an ultra orthodox synagogue in Ripponlea, was attacked about 4am on Friday December 6, Picture: NewsWire/ Andrew Henshaw

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also expressed his “firm condemnation of the horrific arson attack” to Mr Albanese and urged him to take “firm and strong action” on anti-Semitism in Australia.

He said there had been an “intolerable wave of attacks on Jewish communities in Australia and around the world”.

“I noted to the Prime Minister that this rise and the increasingly serious anti-Semitic attacks on the Jewish community required firm and strong action, and that this was a message that must be heard clearly from Australia’s leaders,” he said.

“I thanked him for his ongoing efforts to combat anti-Semitism, and expressed my trust that the local law enforcement would do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith

Mr Netanyahu’s office has slammed the government over its lack of support, suggesting Australia may no longer be a “key ally” of the Jewish state and warning “disappointing” positions on UN resolutions would “invite more terrorism” and “more anti-Semitic riots”.

Australia has split with the United States and Israel voting in favour on a draft United Nations resolution which recognised the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinian people in occupied territories like the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Synagogue members remove religious material from Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea after an overnight fire. Picture: NewsWire /Andrew Henshaw

Australia sided with 154 countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and France, to vote in favour on the motion which recognised Palestinian sovereignty in the “occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources”.

It comes as Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a “wake-up call” for the world.

The London-based human rights group said its findings were based on satellite images documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans as well as “dehumanising and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials”.

Originally published as ‘Extreme’: Israeli PM slams Australia after arson attack on Melbourne synagogue