A vehicle with a Hanukkah ornament fixed atop was firebombed in Melbourne on Thursday before dawn, according to the Victoria Police and Community Security Group Victoria.
The car, with what police described as a billboard, was set alight while in the driveway of a St. Kilda East property, with no one inside at the time.
The car’s interior was extensively damaged, and multiple windows appeared to be smashed, local media reported. Police told The Jerusalem Post that residents were evacuated as a precaution.
Victoria Police said that they have identified someone "who may be able to assist with their investigation" and are searching for them.
CSG Victoria said on Facebook that the Jewish community security organization had already been operating at a "heightened level" with increased patrols and would continue to do so.
Victoria Premier responds to the attack
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said on X that she had been briefed on the incident and that the Jewish community rightly feared that it was an antisemitic incident."This is not what any family, street or community deserves to wake up to on Christmas Day in Australia," said Allan. "This little car has been driving around town spreading the Hanukkah and holiday cheer. I even saw one drive past when I was in Caulfield on Monday afternoon."
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria said in a statement that it thanked the police for their swift response, but that their community remains on edge with heightened fear and uncertainty.
"This is a continuation of the daily fear the Jewish community has had to live in for the past two years, and even more so after Bondi [Beach Massacre]," said the community group.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted on X that the Jewish community was still in mourning after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack last Sunday, and that the firebombing was another terrible act of antisemitism.
The Executive Council of Australian Jews stressed that the arson was part of a "pattern of unrelenting antisemitism" that included an arrest in Perth on Tuesday.
Western Australia Police had charged a 39-year-old Yangebup man for conduct to racially harass after investigating antisemitic comments made on social media. Police also found that he possessed a prohibited weapon and failed to store firearms properly.
Australia PM Albanese: 'There is no place in Australia for antisemitism'
Albanese responded to the Western Australia incident by assuring "there is no place in Australia for antisemitism, hate, and violent ideologies."ECAJ President Daniel Aghion said that the continued pattern of antisemitic incidents, particularly the Sydney Hanukkah party terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 15 and wounded 40, highlighted the need for stronger laws and enforcement.
"This includes the banning of hateful language at protests," said Aghion. "The social permissiveness for such statements that has been created in this country over the last two years has led to an environment where a fringe element of Jew haters consider themselves authorised to engage in violent attacks."
Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory responded to the Melbourne arson saying that the incident also underscored the need for a national royal commission, despite Albanese's refusal. Gregory also questioned the effectiveness of the Australian government's legislative push for firearm control in the wake of the Bondi shooting, as the Melbourne attacker used a firebomb.
"The apparent use of a fire-bomb also raises serious questions about the effectiveness of Labor’s current focus on firearms rather than broader measures to address antisemitism," said Gregory.
Albanese said on Tuesday that his office would be going ahead with an internal review, and that he supported the New South Wales government's decision to have a royal commission.
The Australian government has been seeking a series of firearm reforms, including a national gun buyback, and limiting the number of firearms owned. NSW passed its own legislation restricting firearm ownership on Wednesday morning.