‘Iran is da bomb’: Vandals target historic Melbourne synagogue

An iconic Melbourne religious institution has been vandalised twice in a day.

The heritage-listed Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue was targeted by vandals on Sunday.

One piece of graffiti read “Iran is da bomb” inscribed in a mushroom cloud, alongside another piece of vandalism that said “free Palestine”.

“It is believed a wall of the Toorak Road premises was graffitied by an unknown person sometime on Sunday afternoon,” a police spokesman said.

“That was removed but unknown offenders again graffitied the building sometime on Sunday evening.”

The original graffitied message also said “free Palestine”.

“There is absolutely no place at all in our society for anti-Semitic or hate-based symbols and behaviour,” the police spokesman said.

Police want anyone with information to come forward.

Rabbi Shlomo Nathanson told the Herald Sun: “We’re just frustrated and exhausted by all of this and we hope that is shared by members outside Jewish community”.

“We feel this to be an attack on the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and it is unacceptable.

“While this is an offence to the Jewish community, it is our hope that people say ‘not on my watch, not in my Australia’,” the Rabbi said.

The Premier labelled the graffiti “disgraceful” and “senseless”.

“It is just so vitally important that we do not allow conflict and violence overseas to divide us here in Melbourne and Victoria,” Jacinta Allan said.

The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation is a monumental temple on the high-traffic corner of Toorak Road and St Kilda Road, about 2km south of the CBD.

The building was constructed between 1928 and 1930. The synagogue is heritage-listed for its historical, aesthetic and social significance.

The graffiti referencing Iran was written about 12 hours after the US bombed Iranian facilities, which are suspected of being used to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons.