Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he personally believes suspected arson attack on Melbourne synagogue was act of terrorism

Anthony Albanese says he personally believes the firebombing attack on a Melbourne synagogue counts as an act of terrorism.

The Friday morning attack at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s south east is currently being investigated by ASIO and Victoria Police, with high level officials from both organisations set to meet on Monday, to discuss whether the act should be officially designated as a terrorist act.

The Prime Minister has been criticised by the Jewish community and Opposition for not labelling the incident as a terrorist event, despite condemning the “deplorable attack” as anti-Semitic.

While speaking at a doorstop in Perth to launch a new train line on Sunday, he said it was his personal belief that the incident had the markers of a terrorist event.

Mr Albanese said Victorian and federal police forces would meet on Monday to officially determine whether the arson attack was an act of terror.

“Terrorism is something that is aimed at creating fear in the community and the atrocities that occurred in the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to create fear in the community and therefore from my personal perspective certainly fulfil that definition of terrorism,” he said.

“The protocols are that the state jurisdictions, who have the lead on this through Victoria Police, will make an assessment and a recommendation,” he said, while adding that there has been a “worrying” rise anti-Semitism in Australia.

“That’s the formal process, but quite clearly this has been aimed at creating fear, and that is what terrorists seek to do.”

Dutton blasts Albo over synagogue stance

Earlier on Sunday, Peter Dutton accused Mr Albanese of being slow to stamp out rising anti-Semitism in Australia following a suspected arson attack on a Melbourne Synagogue.

The Opposition Leader has said the attack was an “act of terrorism, plain and simple,” and criticised Mr Albanese’s response to rising anti-Semitism in Australia as “deplorable”.

Mr Dutton said the act was a “tragedy and national disgrace,” and seized on the Prime Minister for being slow-moving against rising anti-Semitism, stating he should have acted following the pro-Palestine protests outside the Sydney Opera House in October 2023.

“(The synagogue fire) should never have happened, and nobody should be surprised by the fact that it has happened, which is part of the tragedy,” Mr Dutton told Sky on Sunday.

“This is an act of terrorism, pure and simple, and I think the Prime Minister’s deliberate decision to seek political advantage over the course of last 12 months on this issue and play to a domestic audience of Green voters, I think, has been deplorable and one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in public life.”

Following protests outside Sydney’s Great Synagogue, and events in Melbourne, NSW Premier Chris Minns has said he would move to strengthen protest laws against disrupting religious institutions and places of worship, ordering a review into the laws.

While Mr Dutton congratulated the move, he said Labor premiers were attempting to “distance themselves” from Mr Albanese due to his position on the conflict and response to domestic incidents.

Mr Dutton also said he would consider withdrawing Australia from the ICC, after the body issues arrests warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has signalled Australian authorities would arrest Mr Netanyahu if he entered Australian jurisdiction, stating Australia must comply with international law.

“If I’m fortunate enough to be elected prime minister next year, then I would act in our country’s best interests, and not only would I contemplate this matter in weighing up the decision that you’re talking about, I would also make sure that we have a court which has integrity,” he said.

“So I think it is worth contemplating.”

The suspected arson attack has also been condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “abhorrent act of anti-Semitism,“ who also launched an extraordinary attack on the Albanese Labor government for holding an “extreme anti-Israeli position.

This comes after Australia voted alongside 157 other countries in support of a UN resolution demanding Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, while also blocking the visa of former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked over her commentary on the war in Gaza.

The Coalition has repeatedly attacked Labor from splitting with Israel on foreign policy concerning Gaza, with Mr Dutton stating our treatment of Australia’s “trusted ally” had tarnished Australia’s international reputation.

However, Industrial Relations Minister Murray Watt accused Mr Dutton of politicising the Melbourne synagogue attack.

Although he said the act “looks like terrorism,” he said that was a “judgment that’s got to be made by our domestic security agencies”.

“This was an absolutely horrific anti-Semitic attack that I think all Australians, particularly our leaders, should stand together on, but of course, as he always does, Peter Dutton chooses to try to politicise it and divide our community, rather than try to bring us together,” Senator Watt told Sky.

“I think it’s just very disappointing that Peter Dutton can’t afford, can’t avoid politicising these sorts of terrible events.”