A worshipper thought he was in the middle of a terrorist attack when masked assailants set one of Melbourne’s largest synagogues alight.

Yumi Friedman, founder of Yumi’s dips, was preparing for morning prayer in the Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea about 4am on Friday when the attack occurred.

“I heard a big bang on the door with a sledgehammer, it looked like,” he said at the scene, in south-east Melbourne.

“I stopped for a second, and then suddenly heard another bang on the glass, and I saw glass fling. So I knew someone was out there trying to break in.”

Friedman fled the building to call police before returning to find the synagogue alight.

“There wasn’t much of a fire when I started, so I just thought maybe I would come inside to get my phone,” he said.

“But I touched the door, it was hot and I burnt my hand so I didn’t go inside.”

The fire quickly tore through the synagogue, engulfing it in flames and gutting two out of its three buildings.

Friedman said his mind immediately turned to the attack being an act of terror.

“This happens in Israel every day, and Australia is going against it,” he said.

“I want to live a normal life. I’ve got a big business, I don’t need all this.”

Last night’s arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue is a shocking antisemitic crime. It should be condemned by all people of good will, whether those of faith or not. Those who incite hate or perpetrate such crimes must be prosecuted by the law.

— Archbishop of Sydney (@archbishopsyd) December 6, 2024

Fellow congregant Ruvi Herzog said the community was lucky Friedman was studying and could sound the alarm.

“It is one of the most active synagogues in Melbourne and it’s devastating, right to the heart of the community, to go and to know that you’re not safe,” he said.

“Look at the age of the kids standing outside here; you’ve got 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds and eight-year-olds … everybody comes here.”

The City of Glen Eira is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Victoria with 25,585 people, according to state government data.

Earlier, Fire Rescue Victoria’s assistant chief fire officer Brayden Sinnamon said two people were evacuated with minor injuries.

No other properties were damaged in the blaze, which was brought under control just before 5am. Victoria Police launched an investigation to find two suspected arsonists.

Arson and explosives squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray said officers did not know the motive but a witness saw two masked offenders in dark clothes.

“They appeared to be spreading accelerant of some type inside the premises,” he said.

“This individual has left, police were subsequently called to the premises, where the premises had been engulfed and has suffered extensive damage.”

Furious community members heckled Murray as he addressed the media outside the place of worship on Friday morning.

“People have been attacked here. Why don’t you put someone in here?” a man who identified himself as Yossef said.

“We’re doing our best,” Murray said.

Widespread condemnation

Political leaders across Australia have condemned Friday’s attack  as an “act of hate” and clear antisemitism.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an attack on a synagogue was “an act of anti-Semitism by definition”.

“This is an outrage. It’s clearly aimed at creating fear in the community,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“I have been briefed this morning by the AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw. There are two persons of interest who were there.”

Albanese, who said it was “an act of hate”, revealed the arsonists used a broom to spread accelerant through the building.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said “every available resource will be deployed” to find the arsonists.

“We stand with the entire Jewish community who have every right to go to shule, pray openly, and be proud of who they are – without fearing personal consequences,” she said.

She said the Victorian government would provide $100,000 to the community to rebuild the synagogue.

Federal Member for Macnamara Joshua Burns, whose electorate is home to the synagogue, said the community was built by Holocaust survivors who came to Australia for a peaceful home.

“The synagogue behind us is the centre of Jewish life of learning and spirituality. I’ve been inside many times, and to see it burnt today is devastating,” he said.

“The attack was a disgrace and extremely dangerous.”

I condemn unequivocally the Melbourne synagogue attack. The targeting of a place of worship is an act of hate. Violence and antisemitism have no place in Australia.

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) December 6, 2024

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said it was “absolutely abhorrent” to see any place of worship attacked.

“We have seen the rise of antisemitism in our community since October 7 of last year in an unprecedented way,” he said.

“Everybody knew that antisemitism, that hatred and that vilification, that racism, was lurking beneath the surface.

“But what we’ve seen on our university campuses, what we’ve seen online, what we’ve seen against people of Jewish faith in the community, has been completely and utterly unacceptable, and it should be totally condemned in our country.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said it was the responsibility of “every part of Australian society” to fight antisemitism.

“It has been surprising and deeply saddening to me how many times I have felt the need to say that fact over the past year,” said Dreyfus, who is Jewish.

The “heinous” attack served as a chilling reminder that anti-Semitism is not a relic of the past, said Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon.

“‘Never again’ has become a hollow promise as the very evils it sought to prevent are happening once more,” he said.

-with AAP