Australia’s police charge third man over 2024 synagogue fire

SYDNEY: Australian police said Friday they have charged a third man in connection with a 2024 arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that Canberra accused Iran of directing.

Police said the 20-year-old man has been charged with arson and other crimes and will appear in court next week.

They will allege he and two others charged last year broke into the synagogue and lit the fire.

The blaze at the Adass Israel Synagogue was one of the most destructive in a string of antisemitic incidents following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

The fire destroyed much of the synagogue, shocked Australians and was tagged by police as a “likely terrorist incident”.

“There is no understating the fear and genuine sense of unease this crime created in our society,” federal police assistant commissioner Peter Crozier said.

He said police believed that some individuals had “actively lied” to the joint counter-terrorism squad investigating the crime.

“Let me be very clear. You will not obstruct justice. Now is the time for you to come forward and do the right thing,” Crozier said.

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador last year, accusing Tehran of orchestrating the fire as well as the torching of a kosher cafe in Sydney’s Bondi suburb.

It was the first time in the post-war period that Australia had expelled an ambassador.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman denied the accusations.

Australia is currently probing a rise of antisemitism in the wake of a December mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Sajid Akram and son Naveed are accused of opening fire as Jewish families thronged the beach for a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.