An unfired bullet has been found outside an arson mosque in Melbourne, prompting a fresh police investigation into the shocking incident.
The Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, south-east of Melbourne, was set on fire at around 4am on Friday as worshipers gathered to pray.
Two people suffered injuries following the attack, which Victoria Police believe was a “targeted incident”.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed a single 9mm bullet was found on the footpath outside the synagogue just before 5pm on Saturday.
“The object will be examined and the exact circumstances surrounding it are being investigated,” he told Herald of the sun.
“All avenues of investigation are being explored; it is too early to say if there is any connection at this time.”
The discovery comes after the opposition leader criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, accusing him of being slow to root out antisemitism as pressure mounts on him to label it “terrorism”.
“(The synagogue fire) should never have happened, and no one should be surprised by the fact that it happened, which is part of the tragedy,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
An unfired bullet has been found outside an arson mosque in Melbourne, prompting a fresh police investigation into the shocking incident.
Locals were seen laying floral tributes at the bombing site over the weekend and more than 1,000 people are expected to visit the synagogue on Sunday to demonstrate against antisemitism.
“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 the last 12 months on this issue and appeal to a domestic audience of Green voters, I think, has It has been deplorable. And one of the worst things I have seen in public life.
Locals were seen laying floral tributes at the bombing site over the weekend and more than 1,000 people are expected to visit the synagogue on Sunday to demonstrate against antisemitism.
Police are hunting two masked men in connection with the attack that sent worshipers fleeing the burning building as they tried to save valuable religious artifacts such as ancient handwritten scrolls and the Torah (the first five books of the Jewish Bible).
Two people suffered burns and several windows were broken and several parts of the exterior were damaged in the fire, which destroyed two of the synagogue’s three buildings.
The building has been barricaded behind large steel fences where the public has laid floral tributes and messages of support.
Victoria Police has assured the Jewish community it will increase patrols around synagogues.
Former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who lost Jewish family members during the Holocaust, said Saturday that Albanese should declare the synagogue attack an act of domestic terrorism.
“There was a bombing at a place of worship with people inside, who were injured as a result and the legislation is very clear,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allen had to cut short a press conference at the bombed synagogue when she was questioned at length by Jewish advocate Menachem Vorchheimer.
Frydenberg, who was a former member of the Kooyong seat where the synagogue is located, also demanded Albanese implement a national police taskforce to curb antisemitism and launch a judicial inquiry into Australian educational institutions.
‘Please Prime Minister, see what is happening and act. “You and your ministers must step forward, not retreat from the challenges we face,” he said.
He claimed that the Prime Minister had “let it get to this point” where the ““The Australian Jewish community lives in fear… where anti-Semitism has become normalized.”
The head of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, Alex Ryvchin, also said the Prime Minister should “reflect on how it came to this”.
“For over a year we have seen racist mobs hindering the rights and freedoms of ordinary Australians,” he said.
‘We have been blocked from accessing parts of our cities because the police could not guarantee our safety.
“Students have been told to stay away from campuses.”
Jewish leaders have been urging Albanese to show greater support for Israel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Australia broke with its long-standing position of voting in favor of a UN resolution demanding that Israel quickly end its occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked the synagogue bombing to the UN vote in a statement on Day X.
Netanyahu said the arson attack was “an abhorrent act of anti-Semitism” and He hoped that state authorities would use “all their weight to prevent anti-Semitic acts of this kind in the future.”
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israel position of the Labor government in Australia,” he said.
‘Including the scandalous decision to support the UN resolution calling on Israel to ‘end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, as quickly as possible.’
“Anti-Israel sentiment is anti-Semitism.”