Rabbi’s car set on fire in Australia in suspected antisemitic attack

Emergency forces called to St Kilda in eastern Melbourne, Australia, at approximately 3 a.m. local time (Thursday), discovered a gray Mazda car that had been set on fire after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at it.

The sign on the roof of the vehicle left no doubt as to the antisemitic motive behind the incident, bearing the words “Happy Hanukkah.” The car belongs to a rabbi who asked to remain anonymous. The vehicle was removed from the scene this morning. Police have asked anyone with relevant dashcam footage, security camera recordings, or other information to contact them.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commented on the incident, saying, “The Jewish community in Australia is mourning after the terror attack in Bondi. The firebombing of a car in Melbourne is another horrific act suspected to be antisemitic.”

The incident comes less than two weeks after the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney, in which 15 people were killed and 42 others injured.