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a man who set fire melbourne The synagogue, when worshipers were inside, was motivated by mental illness rather than anti-Semitism Australian The magistrate said on Monday.
Angelo Loras, 35, pleaded guilty to arson and recklessly endangering life on July 4 when he poured flammable liquid on the front door of an East Melbourne synagogue and set it on fire. About 20 worshipers were sharing a Shabbat meal inside, but no one was injured.
Reports of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents have increased sharply across Australia since the war israel And Hamas started in 2023. Government leaders suspected that the attack on the synagogue, also known as East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, was a hate crime.
The morning after the fire, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese A statement was issued saying the arson attack was “cowardly, an act of violence and anti-Semitism, and has no place in Australian society.”
But Magistrate Malcolm Thomas ruled on Monday that Loras was not motivated by anti-Semitism but was in the grip of a paranoid delusion caused by his failure to take medication for schizophrenia.
Thomas sentenced Loras to four months’ imprisonment, less the 138 days he had already spent in custody.
While Loras was eligible for release on Monday, he was also ordered to continue medical treatment for schizophrenia for 20 months and carry out unpaid work.
The Australian government has blamed Iran for an earlier arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, which security officials say was an anti-Semitic crime aimed at undermining Australian social unity.
Australian spy agencies have accused Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards of organizing arson attacks on Melbourne’s Adas Israel Synagogue last December and a Sydney kosher food business two months ago. Iran has denied any involvement. Both buildings were extensively damaged.
Loras, who was arrested two days after the arson attack, told police that he thought the synagogue was a residential address.
Thomas advised the Jewish congregation not to apply for a compensation order against Loras for 54,000 Australian dollars ($35,000) in damages because Loras had been homeless for a long time.
Loras is a Sydney-based former forklift driver with no previous criminal record.
His arson attack was one of three suspected anti-Semitic incidents in Melbourne over the weekend of 4 July to 6 July.
On July 5, about 20 masked protesters harassed diners at an Israeli-owned restaurant. Protesters chanted “Death to the IDF”, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces, breaking a window, overturning tables and throwing chairs.
Police The spray-painting of a Melbourne business and an arson attack on three vehicles belonging to that business before dawn on 6 July were also investigated. Police said they found anti-Semitic “findings” at the scene, without elaborating.