An arson attack by two masked men at the Adass Israel synagogue in Riponle sent shockwaves through the Jewish community on Friday.
The incident drew strong criticism from Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the incident as a “horrific act of anti-Semitism”.
At a press conference today, Albanese said there had been an alarming rise in anti-Semitism, which he said the government had called for “consistently”.
He said Victorian police and the Australian Federal Police would hold a meeting tomorrow to make a formal decision on whether the attack on the synagogue was an act of terrorism.
“But if you want my personal opinion, it’s quite clear that terrorism is something that is designed to create fear in the community and the atrocities that took place in the Melbourne synagogue were clearly designed to create fear in the community,” Albanese told reporters.
“And so, from my personal perspective, I certainly fit that definition of terrorism.
Netanyahu went on to blame the attack on Australia’s “anti-Israel stance” after the government voted alongside 156 countries to end Israel’s “illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible”.
Albanese defended the decision, maintaining that the government has a long-standing position on a two-state solution.
“Can I make it very clear that 156 countries supported the resolution adopted by the United Nations, from the Five Eyes partners, Australia’s most important security partners, four out of five voted in favor of this resolution. New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia,” Albanese said.
“In addition to that, our main partners, whether it’s France, Japan, Germany, our ASEAN partners, overwhelmingly supported this resolution.
Albanese also reiterated calls for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
