Rabbi’s car with ‘Happy Chanukah’ sign firebombed in Melbourne
- - Rabbi’s car with ‘Happy Chanukah’ sign firebombed in Melbourne
Our Foreign StaffDecember 25, 2025 at 4:47 AM
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The family affected by the car attack included another rabbi
A rabbi’s car carrying a “Happy Chanukah” sign has been firebombed in Melbourne in a suspected anti-Semitic attack.
The silver sedan was set alight at around 2.50am on Thursday while parked in the driveway of the rabbi’s home in the suburb of St Kilda East, forcing his family to evacuate.
The attack in the heart of Melbourne’s Jewish community occurred just 11 days after 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach.
Neighbours laid candles outside the rabbi’s home after his car was fire-bombed
Neighbours lay candles outside the rabbi’s home, across the road from a Jewish school, on Thursday in a show of support, after Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese condemned the “evil” attack.
Asked about the firebombing, he said: “It’s just beyond comprehension. What sort of evil ideology and thoughts at a time like this would motivate someone?”
Australia's Jewish community is in mourning after the Bondi terrorist attack.The firebombing of a car in Melbourne is another terrible act of suspected antisemitism. Federal authorities stand ready to assist.There is no place in Australia for this kind of hatred and it has to…
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 25, 2025
Victoria police said the fire was “suspicious” and have launched an investigation.
“Detectives have identified a person who may be able to assist with their investigation and they are actively searching for and making enquiries into their whereabouts,” police said.
Australian authorities are stiffening laws and penalties for hate crimes after the Bondi shooting.
Rabbi Effy Block, of the local Chabad of St Kilda, said the fire in Melbourne was clearly an anti-Semitic attack.
“Thank God no people were harmed,” he told AFP. “But this is a continuing escalation, where we see these events happening again and again.
“My Jewish community in St Kilda and Melbourne do not feel safe in their own homes and country.”
Rabbi Effy Block said the Jewish community no longer feels safe in their homes - ABC News/Matthew Holmes
He told ABC that the affected family included another rabbi. “They are OK but the car is destroyed,” he said.
Speaking at a charity event in Ashfield, in Sydney, Mr Albanese said the prospect of another anti-Semitic attack so soon after the Bondi Beach terror attack showed there is “evil present”.
“We’ve seen it in other occurrences as well, but it is a timely reminder that overwhelmingly Australians show and are motivated by the sort of compassion, decency, kindness, generosity and togetherness that we see right here [at the event] in Ashfield this morning.”
Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, are accused of carrying out the Bondi attack.
Naveed has been charged with 59 offences, including terrorism and the murders of 15 people. Sajid, his father, was killed in the shooting.
At Bondi Beach, where thousands typically gather on Christmas Day dressed in Santa Hats and swimwear, celebrations on Thursday were muted in the wake of the attack.
There was a visible police presence at Bondi Beach as beach-goers celebrated Christmas - David Gray/Getty Images
Flags flew at half mast outside the heritage-listed Bondi Pavilion building near the site of the attack, while police patrolled the beachfront.
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Source: “AOL General News”
