Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi’s chief of staff has been reprimanded for suggesting the Melbourne synagogue fire could have been a “false flag” operation.
Antoun Issa, who previously worked at The Guardian before moving into politics in August, was “advised” about Senator Faruqi’s “ill-advised” comments after sharing the claim on his personal Instagram page.
The fire at the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea in the early hours of December 6 injured one person and caused significant damage. Masked men were seen pouring liquid on the ground and authorities have since declared it a terrorist attack.
“We don’t know all the details of the attack,” Issa said Monday.
‘It could very well be a white supremacist or someone enraged by genocide or a Zionist false flag. They’ve done it before.
Police said they have identified three suspects and, according to Greg Barton, lecturer in global Islamic politics at Deakin University, “they may have found evidence of the suspects’ motivations but are revealing little so as not to compromise the investigation.”
Senator Faruqi has criticized Issa’s comments as “inadvisable” and “inappropriate.”
“I do not agree with this and have advised my staff regarding this,” Faruqi said in a statement to the Sydney Morning Heraldwhile Greens leader Adam Bandt also called the comments inappropriate.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured) said the comments were “inappropriate” and claimed she had “advised” her chief of staff Antoun Issa on the matter.
Greens staffer and former journalist Antoun Issa (left) suggested in a social media post that the Melbourne synagogue fire could have been a “false flag” attack.
Issa told the publication that he intended the post to be a warning about not jumping to conclusions about who was responsible for the attack.
“In retrospect, I regret this post and it was inappropriate,” the chief of staff said.
“This publication was intended as an academic exercise in the risks of assigning blame for a crime before the police have reached their conclusions, especially given the prevalence of white supremacy and far-right extremism.”
Issa has previously shared pro-Palestinian views on his social media.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a fiery response to the synagogue attack and slammed his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese for a perceived “anti-Israel” perception.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israel position of the Labor government in Australia,” he said.
Netanyahu took aim at the Australian government’s “scandalous decision” to support a United Nations resolution calling on Israel to “end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, as quickly as possible.”
Albanese has since responded, saying anti-Semitism has no place in Australia and unequivocally condemning the “disgraceful” attack.
Photos from the scene showed the Synagogue well alight (pictured) as firefighters struggled to put out the flames as they razed the building.
The aftermath of the December 6 fire shows significant damage to the building
Flowers left outside the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, south Melbourne, along with a sign reading “we choose unity”.
Albanese has committed an additional $32.5 million to increase security at Jewish community sites, including schools and synagogues, across the country.
Australian Palestine Defense Network president Nasser Mashni said the attack did not represent the Palestinian community in Australia, despite Israel’s military offensive in the Palestinian territory of Gaza in the Middle East.
‘We condemn that act. We stand alongside our Jewish brothers and sisters. (If) it’s someone who thinks he’s on our side… there’s no place for that,’ he said.