The Royal Commission into Antisemitism has heard that the management of a Melbourne synagogue tried and failed to secure government funding for security before it was destroyed in a firebombing.
Two buildings belonging to the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea were gutted in the attack on December 6, 2024.
Synagogue board member Benjamin Klein said letters seeking security funding had been sent to local, state and federal governments in 2023 and 2024.
“We also sent out a letter to Mark Dreyfus, at the time who was attorney general, and we were unsuccessful,” Klein said.
“There were technicalities in terms of incorporated entities, unincorporated entities. There was a lot of red tape to sort of get through, and we weren’t successful.”
The synagogue has since employed a full-time grant writer, following the example of other Jewish organisations that appointed staff specifically to handle funding applications.
Klein said security had barely featured in synagogue life for most of his childhood and early adulthood.
“There was not even locks on the doors of the synagogue,” he said.
“The synagogue was open for the public, for Jewish community. People wanted to come past and pray and support.”
There were no guards, little contact with CSG Victoria or Victoria Police, and no discussion about security for school excursions or community activities.
“It wasn’t a conversation. It was just normal life,” he said.
That changed sharply after the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Klein said community members began experiencing abuse from passing motorists, including cries of “F* Jews”, “Hitler missed you” and references to gas chambers.
He said the synagogue was far more than a place used on Shabbat or festivals.
“It’s really the be-all and end-all every day,” he said.
The synagogue operated from about 4.30am until midnight or 1am, with people attending for prayer, study, reflection and community programs.
“We’re probably the busiest synagogue in the southern hemisphere,” he said.
Klein recalled an Israeli ambassador asking when he could attend a prayer service and being told services ran throughout the day.
“Whatever time suits you, you pop in. We’ll have a quorum of 10 people there praying.”
Klein said the building was the setting for almost every stage of community life, including births, first haircuts, bar mitzvahs, weddings and family celebrations.
“It’s a place of reflection, of prayer and connection to God, but at the same time, also all your milestones happen there,” he said.
The site also housed support groups for women and children, youth activities, lectures and other community programs.
“My wife couldn’t drive past the site for six months to see it just in ruins,” Klein said.
After the attack, the congregation secured temporary premises nearby so prayers could continue three times a day.
Klein said the accommodation was uncomfortable but served its immediate purpose, while rebuilding the original synagogue was a “mammoth job”.
The federal government committed $30 million to restore the synagogue and community centre, up to $1.2 million for security work and $250,000 for damaged Torah scrolls.
“We can stay there for the next 50, 100, 150 years into the future. We’ll have somewhere for the community,” he said.
The Victorian government also pledged $100,000 to begin a donation drive for reconstruction. The synagogue is not expected to reopen until at least 2029.
Klein said the fire had forced a major change in the congregation’s approach to security. Before the attack, members regarded Adass Israel as a quiet synagogue in the backstreets of Ripponlea, removed from overseas conflict.
Klein said parents and synagogue members now expected much stronger security arrangements for school excursions, celebrations and community events.
“We need to have police. We need to have security,” he said.
“There needs to be a lot heavier focus on everything we do around security for the community.”
Klein said the synagogue had developed much closer ties with CSG Victoria and Victoria Police.
He described CSG’s support since the day of the fire as “phenomenal”.
He also said Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert contacted the community every week or fortnight to ask what help was needed. Police and CSG were now informed about community celebrations and other events so security arrangements could be prepared.
Klein described antisemitic abuse as a regular part of daily life.
After returning from a work conference in New Zealand, he said he had been in Melbourne Airport’s arrivals area for less than 15 seconds when three men began shouting “Free Gaza” at him.
He said motorists also shouted abuse while he walked to synagogue with his son on Friday nights and Saturdays.
“It’s a very common occurrence that happens to people in the community,” he said.
Klein said his brother had been abused from a passing car the night before the hearing.
“He’s born and bred in Melbourne. His parents are born and bred in Melbourne,” he said.
“That’s not an environment which is sustainable.”
He said two students from his son’s class had moved to Israel because their families no longer felt safe in Melbourne.
“Why are rational, successful accountants, lawyers, doctors picking themselves up and moving to Israel? The answer is they just don’t feel safe,” he said.
Klein also recalled taking his children into central Melbourne for bowling and being warned to leave before a pro-Palestinian protest passed through the city.
“I’m literally coming to the city with my kids to go into a bowling alley to do something fun, and I’m being told in my own city I shouldn’t stay here,” he said.
Despite the fear and abuse, Klein said the community had received significant support after the fire.
He recalled seeing a car slow near the synagogue two days after the attack and fearing the driver was about to abuse him. Instead, the man had travelled from Melbourne’s northern suburbs to say he stood with the Jewish community.
Klein said Jewish Australians should not have to hide their identity by covering a kippah or removing a Star of David.
“Your typical Australian Jew lives here. He belongs here. He’s got the same rights as everybody else,” he said.
“He doesn’t have to live his life in fear.”
ASIO has assessed that the Iranian government directed the attack, with the IRGC using a chain of overseas intermediaries to task people in Australia.