A shul in Melbourne, Australia, was set on fire on Friday night while 20 people were inside. B’Chasdei Hashem, only the door was burned, and no one was injured in the incident. Those inside the shul evacuated through the back of the building. The incident began when a man entered the grounds of the East Melbourne shul at around 8:00 p.m. on Friday night, poured a flammable liquid on the entrance door, and set it on fire. It is one of the oldest shuls in the city, founded in 1870. Only minutes after the arson attempt, pro-Hamas rioters stormed the Miznon restaurant in Melbourne, throwing chairs and shattering a window while shouting “Death to the IDF.” The group of rioters arrived at the restaurant after a demonstration attended by about 100 pro-Hamas rioters on a nearby street. Kan News reported that it is believed that the restaurant was targeted not only because it is an Israeli restaurant, but also because of the connection of its owner, Shahar Segal, who serves as a spokesman for the “Humanitarian Fund for Gaza” (GHF), an aid fund for Gaza with Israeli-American support. Sasha Roytman, CEO of the Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism, said, “This is another escalation within the unprecedented wave of anti-Semitic events taking place in Australia. Since October 7, there has been a rise of hundreds of percent in the number of anti-Semitic and hate events in the country. The arson occurred when there were about 20 worshipers inside the synagogue; this is an attempted murder in every sense of the word that miraculously ended without casualties, and it should be treated as a terrorist event.” “We will soon hold an emergency conference in Australia to convene local leaders and mayors and give them tools to combat antisemitism at the national and local level. We call on the Australian government, local authorities, and leaders from all sectors to take these serious events seriously. The government in Australia must take immediate action to protect the Jewish community, which has lost its sense of personal security and fears that the situation will escalate further.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded sharply to the events: “I view with great severity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included an attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent attack on an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters.” “The despicable anti-Semitic attacks, while shouting ‘Death to the IDF’ and attempting to harm a place of worship, are serious hate crimes that must be uprooted. ‘The State of Israel will continue to stand by the Jewish community in Australia, and we demand that the Australian government act in every way to bring the rioters to justice and prevent such attacks in the future.” (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)