Antisemitism must be treated as a public safety issue, says a Jewish leader, as authorities hunt for a suspect behind an alleged hate-related firebombing in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
A car bearing a Chanukah symbol, a nine-branched candelabrum associated with Hanukkah celebrations, was set alight outside a local rabbi's house in St Kilda East, south-east of Melbourne, in the early hours of Christmas Day.
No-one was inside the vehicle at the time, but the home's occupants had to be evacuated as a precaution.
Police are investigating the suspicious fire and have identified a person who may be able to assist with inquiries.
The attack was designed to frighten Jews for being visibly Jewish, Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said.
President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, has called for a royal commission following the latest suspected antisemitic attack in Melbourne. Source: AAP / James Ross
A federal royal commission or an equivalent national inquiry with real powers into the Bondi attack and wider antisemitism crisis is the only way the nation can get the truth, accountability and lasting reform, he said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan was briefed on the firebombing of a car that had been used to spread Hanukkah and holiday cheer, and which the "community rightly fear is an antisemitic incident".
"This is not what any family, street or community deserves to wake up to on Christmas Day in Australia," Allan said on social media.
"We have a duty to this community: to ensure their families are safe and feel safe right now, and to work long-term in a serious effort to drive anti-Semitism and hate out of our state."
The incident comes after 15 people were killed when two alleged gunmen opened fire on Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach on 14 December.
'Beyond comprehension': PM denounces attack
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the apparent firebombing attack was "beyond comprehension".
"What sort of evil ideology and thoughts at a time like this would motivate someone? We know that there is evil presence," he said on Thursday.
But Albanese has resisted calling a federal royal commission into the Bondi attack, instead backing a NSW inquiry and prioritising a quicker but more limited review of intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Hate speech reforms and an overhaul of ministerial powers to cancel or reject visas for sowing division or potentially inciting violence are also on the agenda.
The Victorian government has promised to follow NSW's footsteps to crack down on hate crimes and grant police the power to veto protests after designated terror attacks.
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