Israeli president’s visit to firebombed synagogue cancelled over safety fears

Community safety concerns have prompted Israeli President Isaac Herzog to cancel his planned visit to the site of one of Australia’s most infamous antisemitic attacks – the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne.

Herzog had intended to go to the destroyed synagogue on Thursday morning to start the Melbourne leg of his state visit, which will culminate in a large Jewish community event on Thursday afternoon at an undisclosed venue.

Two sources with knowledge of the president’s movements said the visit to the Ripponlea synagogue had been cancelled because of the difficulty of securing residential streets in the area and logistical issues caused by the size of the president’s travelling party.

The decision was taken after consultation with Victoria Police. Adass Israel president Michael Spigelman, who will attend an event with the president scheduled later in the day, declined to comment when contacted by this masthead.

Victoria Police has been granted special powers under terrorism legislation in preparation for Herzog’s visit to Melbourne – his final engagement in Australia before he flies home to Israel.

The powers, which have been used a handful of times, allow police to stop and search vehicles or people in public places, seize items and detain people as a preventative measure.

They will apply to specific areas Herzog intends to visit and are not designed to impact a planned protest expected to attract upwards of 5000 people to the CBD.

Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill stressed there was no intelligence suggesting a specific threat, but they had sought additional powers as a preventative measure.

“We want to be clear that there is no intelligence at this time to suggest that the event is the target of any specific threat,” he said.

“However, we are well prepared for both the visit and any protest activity this week, and have adequate police resources available to provide an agile response to any incidents.”

Last year the Albanese government took the rare step of expelling Iran’s ambassador to Australia and pulling its own diplomats out of Tehran after ASIO and Mossad gathered information showing that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had commissioned the December 2024 arson attack on Adass Israel and a firebombing in Sydney.

The government proscribed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation. Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations.

The AFP this week released images purporting to show exiled tobacco kingpin Kazem Hamad in the custody of Iraqi authorities. Hamad is wanted over a string of alleged gangland crimes including murder, kidnapping, extortion and drug importation and is also suspected of helping to arrange and pay for the Adass Israel attack.

Two men, Giovanni Laulu, 21, and Younes Ali Younes, 20, who police accuse of lighting the Adass Israel fire in the early hours of December 6, 2024, while people were praying and studying inside the synagogue, are facing arson and other charges. No one was killed in the attack.

The synagogue was gutted by the blaze. The Adass Israel congregation, a small, Yiddish speaking, non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox community within Melbourne’s diverse Jewish diaspora, have vowed to rebuild on the Ripponlea site.

Hill said a significant police operation was under way to ensure Herzog’s visit was safe for him, the protesters, the community and police.

He said the operation would involve one of the largest deployments of police numbers in recent times, including specialist units. The first day of Herzog’s visit to Australia was marred by violent confrontations involving NSW police and anti-Israel protesters in Sydney.

“Significant planning has been undertaken and a number of police, including a range of specialist resources, will be dedicated to the event to ensure the highest level of safety and security for all involved,” Hill said.

The Supreme Court granted the special police powers on Wednesday morning. They will be activated on Thursday, ahead of Herzog’s arrival, and will remain in place until his departure.

The provisions have been used only four times since they were first activated in 2006, most recently at the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit and the protest-marred Land Forces expo in 2024.

Hill said police had sought to activate the special powers instead of declaring designated areas, most commonly used to search people in public places, because of the Bondi terror attack, Herzog’s position, and ongoing tension in the community about his arrival.

“We understand that this visit has caused some emotions to rise in some community groups. We’re conscious of that,” Hill said.

Police are aware of a planned protest in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday afternoon, but Hill said they were not expecting any significant public order issues.

The rally is scheduled to begin at 5pm, with protesters marching from Flinders Street Station to Parliament House in Spring Street.

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