Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference at the Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, June 17, 2024. Photo: Lukas Coch/Pool via REUTERS

Australia on Monday launched an antisemitism task force following an arson attack at a synagogue in Melbourne which police say was likely terrorism.

The fire early on Friday at the Adass Israel synagogue injured one and caused widespread damage, and has strained relations between Australia and its ally Israel.

The antisemitic attack in Australia following the vandalism of a Jewish MP’s office in Melbourne in June and antisemitic graffiti daubed on cars in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, an area with a high Jewish population, last month.

Friday’s arson came just days after the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) published a new report showing that antisemitism in Australia quadrupled to record levels over the past year, with Australian Jews experiencing more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024

The data included dozens of assaults and hundreds of incidents of property destruction and hate speech

The new Australian Federal Police (AFP) task force will be known as Abalight.

“Special Operation Abalight will be an agile and experienced squad of counter-terrorism investigators who will focus on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community and parliamentarians,” the head of the AFP Reece Kershaw told a news conference.

“In essence, they will be a flying squad to deploy nationally to incidents.”

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attacks on the Jewish community were concerning.

“Antisemitism is a major threat, and antisemitism has been on the rise,” he said.

On Sunday, Albanese said the fire appeared to be a terrorist attack.

TERROR FEARS

Earlier on Monday, Australian police transferred the investigation into Friday’s blaze to a joint counter-terrorism unit, saying the blaze was likely a terrorist attack.

State and federal police along with the country’s domestic intelligence service will work in tandem to identify three suspects wanted in connection with the attack, Shane Patton, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, told a news conference.

“We have the best resources, best-skilled investigators, people who are expert in this field, and we will throw everything we can at this investigation to resolve it,” he said.

Police initially said on Friday it did not believe the fire met the threshold of a terror attack. Designating it a suspected terror incident gives investigators additional resources and powers that include preventative detention, Patton said.

Police have also stepped up patrols of Jewish areas in Melbourne in order to reassure the community there, he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Australia on Saturday, saying the attack could not be separated from the Australian government’s “anti-Israel spirit” and “extreme anti-Israeli position” on a host of policies, including support of a recent UN motion backing a Palestinian state.

The UN vote came amid already flaring tensions between Israel and Australia. Last Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar summoned Australia’s Ambassador to Israel, Ralph King, for an official reprimand following Canberra’s decision not to grant Israel’s former Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, a visa to enter the country last month.

Saar charged that the decision to prohibit Shaked from visiting Australia was based on “baseless blood libels spread by the pro-Palestinian lobby.”

Shaked told Israel’s Channel 12 News that the decision was due to “the anti-Israel and radically pro-Palestinian” policies of the Australian government, which has been led by the left-wing Labor Party since 2022.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke explained that his decision to refuse Shaked’s visa application was rooted in concerns that she would “seriously undermine social cohesion” by speaking about the war in the Middle East, noting her past comments about Palestinians.

Anti-Israel sentiment has led to several antisemitic incidents in Australia over the past year, including vandalism and even physical attacks.