Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Sunday that he personally views the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue on Friday as a terrorist attack, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
The Prime Minister revealed that the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police are scheduled to meet in Melbourne on Monday to determine whether to classify the attack as an act of terrorism.
“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, certainly fulfill that definition of terrorism,” Albanese was quoted having told reporters in Perth.
Highlighting his government’s efforts to combat antisemitism, Albanese pointed to measures such as banning Nazi salutes and symbols, appointing Australia’s first antisemitism envoy, and passing legislation to criminalize doxxing, after private information from a Jewish community WhatsApp group was leaked.
Albanese was asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of Australia’s policies after Netanyahu linked the Australian government’s policies with the arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue.
The Australian Prime Minister said that Netanyahu's comments were “a matter for the Israeli Prime Minister.” He defended Australia’s recent vote at the United Nations, noting that it aligned with the majority of nations and four of the five members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. The vote called for Israel to end its “occupation” of Judea, Samaria and Gaza as soon as possible.
Earlier, Murray Watt, Australia’s minister for employment and workplace relations, responded to Netanyahu’s criticism by highlighting initiatives such as $25 million in funding for security upgrades at Jewish sites, including schools, as well as legislation banning the Nazi salute and efforts to crack down on hate speech.
“The Albanese Government has taken a range of strong actions to stand against antisemitism and to stamp it out from our community,” Watt said, adding, “I respectfully disagree with Prime Minister Netanyahu on this matter.”
Albanese had condemned the attack on the synagogue hours after it took place, stating, "I have zero tolerance for antisemitism. It has absolutely no place in Australia. This violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is an outrage. This attack has risked lives and is clearly aimed at creating fear in the community. The people involved must be caught and face the full force of the law."
He added, "This deliberate, unlawful attack goes against everything we are as Australians and everything we have worked so hard to build as a nation.”