Ripponlea: Second man charged over Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing attack

Counter-terrorism police have charged a second man over an arson attack that gutted a synagogue and sparked international outrage.

Two buildings belonging to the Adass Israel Synagogue at Ripponlea in Melbourne’s southeast were destroyed in the blaze on December 6.

Two congregants inside preparing for morning prayers were forced to flee for their lives, with one suffering minor injuries.

A 20-year-old man was charged with arson, conduct endangering life and theft of a vehicle on Thursday after police raided a home at Meadow Heights in Melbourne’s north on August 14.

Electronic devices and other items are undergoing forensic examination after being seized.

The Meadow Heights man has been remanded in custody ahead of facing Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Police will allege he is one of three people who broke into the Ripponlea synagogue and deliberately set the fire.

His co-accused, 21-year-old Werribee man Giovanni Laulu, has been hit with the same charges after his arrest in late July.

The theft charge relates to a stolen blue Volkswagen Golf sedan allegedly used in other offences as a “communal crime car”.

A 20-year-old man from Melton South has also been charged over his alleged role in stealing the same car linked to separate high-profile incidents, including the synagogue firebombing.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously declared he believed the arson attack was an act of terrorism, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced it as an “abhorrent act of anti-Semitism”.

Police are continuing to treat it as a politically motivated attack.

Counter-terrorism police suspect overseas and local criminals worked together on the synagogue arson, and remain confident of further arrests and charges.

The investigation has been one of the “highest priorities” of the joint counter terrorism team, acting Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Nick Read said.

“I want to reassure the community - especially the Jewish community - that the AFP, together with Victoria Police and ASIO, are working relentlessly to bring this investigation to its conclusion,” he said.

“We warned that further arrests would follow and today we have taken yet another step towards justice.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry praised the “painstaking work” of police in tracking down some of the alleged perpetrators and gathering evidence for their prosecution.

“Our community awaits further information about whether foreign actors were also involved,” the group’s president Daniel Aghion said.