(Bloomberg) -- Australian law enforcement agencies have upgraded an apparent arson attack at a synagogue in the southern city of Melbourne to a “likely” terrorist incident, escalating the investigation of an event that prompted Israel’s prime minister to directly rebuke the government in Canberra.
Australian Federal Police believe the blaze was “politically motivated” and it is now the subject of a terrorism investigation, Deputy Commissioner for National Security Krissy Barrett said at a press conference on Monday. Authorities said they are seeking three suspects believed to have been involved in the attack, which took place on Friday morning in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.
“Do not test the resolve or determination of the AFP or our policing and intelligence partners,” Barrett told reporters. “We will not tolerate crimes that undermine Australia’s security or our way of life.”
Politicians across the spectrum have called the attack an act of antisemitism, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling the Australian Broadcasting Corp. shortly after the incident that it was an “outrage.”
“The violence and intimidation and destruction at a place of worship is something that we should never see in Australia. It risks lives, it’s clearly aimed at creating fear in the community,” he said at the time.
However, in a post to social media site X, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked the attack at the synagogue to what he described as Albanese’s “extreme anti-Israeli position,” drawing a link to Australia’s recent decision to support a United Nations resolution demanding that Israel end its occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
“Anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism,” Netanyahu said in the statement.
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