The firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue was a vile act of cruelty against a tight-knit community.
It was crime of cowardice and prejudice.
Above all it was an act of terrorism.
I join with other Australians my total and unequivocal condemnation of this crime and everything it represents.
This was a fire fuelled by antisemitism and stoked by hatred.
It was a grotesque violation of a place of solace and sanctuary.
It has added to the Jewish Australian community’s already profound pain and sorrow.
Australia has been built on respect for each other and a recognition that our diversity of people of different faiths, ethnicity and backgrounds is a national asset which must be cherished and nurtured.
The weight every member of this community must feel in their hearts is almost beyond imagining.
Among the losses so acutely felt is the burning of the sacred, handwritten Torah scrolls.
My Government will provide funding for the restoration of the salvageable scrolls, and the replacement of those that are beyond repair.
That is who we are as Australians.
During times of trouble, we have to come together – because it is together that we have built such an extraordinary nation.
During the darkest years of the 20th century, Melbourne offered Jewish people both sanctuary and a future.
We should all take pride as Australians that this great city is home to the highest per capita population of Holocaust survivors outside Israel.
The part of Melbourne that is proudly home to the synagogue is itself a powerful part of the Jewish story in Australia.
It is a story of a community that has made so many extraordinary contributions to our country, a community that has distinguished itself across generations with acts of philanthropy, humanity and generosity.
It is also a community in which so many families have passed down stories of unimaginable loss and suffering, as well as extraordinary survival in the face of overwhelming odds.
Ever since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have been confronted with fresh reminders of that old grief and pain.
And amid fears that the long shadows of the past might darken the present, there has been fresh cause to once again call on that well of courage and resilience that has sustained the Jewish people for thousands of years.
Just over a year ago, not far from the Adass Israel Synagogue, we came together to open the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Across all the heart-wrenching breadth of its stories, the shortest message it carries is the most important: Never again.
I say to the community: You are hurting, but you are braver than the cowards that perpetrated this evil.
You are stronger than the hatred that spurred them on.
And you are not alone.
We will see those who struck against these sacred walls brought to justice.
This opinion piece was first published in The Age on Wednesday, 11 December 2024.
