Firefighters in front of the Adass Israel synagogue, in the suburbs of Melbourne (Australia), December 6, 2024. CON CHRONIS / AAP IMAGE / REUTERS Australian police announced, Monday, December 9, that they were looking for three people suspected of being linked to the fire, before dawn on Friday, at a synagogue in Melbourne. Police have identified “three suspects, who we are in the process of pursuing,” said Shane Patton, chief commissioner of the Victoria state police, at a press conference, adding that this fire was now considered to be serious. a “terrorist attack”. The fire, which caused no injuries but caused “significant damage”, broke out at 4:10 a.m. on Friday at the Adass Israel synagogue, located in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne, according to police. ‘order. On Friday, a police official reported that a person who witnessed the fire, who entered the synagogue to pray, had seen “two masked individuals”, who “appear to have spread an accelerant of a certain type on the premises”. The synagogue was then “invaded by flames”, added this official. Synagogue board member Benjamin Klein said a few worshipers were sitting and praying inside when the fire broke out. “Zero tolerance” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately condemned a “deliberate and illegal attack”, citing “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism, which “has absolutely no place in Australia”. On Sunday, he said the fire was “the definition of terrorism.” “There has been a worrying increase in anti-Semitism (…) The atrocities that occurred in the Melbourne synagogue were clearly designed to create fear in the community,” he told journalists. He announced on Monday the creation of a police unit responsible for combating anti-Semitism, “a major threat (…) on the rise”. This new unit will be made up of federal police officers who can be deployed throughout Australia. It will focus its efforts on threats, violence and hatred against the Jewish community. Opposition leader Peter Dutton regretted this weekend what he described as Mr. Albanese’s lack of firmness in the face of anti-Semitism. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced a “heinous” crime, linked, according to him, to the “anti-Israeli opinions” of the Australian government. The United Nations General Assembly adopted on Tuesday, December 3, by 157 votes in favor, including Australia, a resolution demanding that Israel put an end “as quickly as possible” to its “illicit presence” in the West Bank and the Strip. from Gaza. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover Foreign Minister Penny Wong defended the vote, saying Australians were “free to support” or not Israeli policies, while describing attacks targeting Jewish Australians as “unacceptable”. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-12-09 07:37:58
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