'Suspicious fire': Car with 'Chanukah' sign set ablaze in Melbourne; comes days after Bondi beach shooting

Australian police are investigating a “suspicious fire” after a parked car displaying a sign celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah was set ablaze in Melbourne in the early hours of Thursday, raising concerns of a possible antisemitic attack.

The empty vehicle, which had a “Happy Chanukah” sign fixed to its roof, was damaged by fire while parked in the driveway of a house in the suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria Police said in a statement. Occupants of the house were evacuated as a precaution, and no injuries were reported.




Images aired by national broadcaster ABC showed the car scorched by the blaze. Police said detectives are making inquiries and are searching for a person who may be able to assist the investigation.

“Detectives have identified a person who may be able to assist with their investigation and they are actively searching for and making enquiries into their whereabouts,” the statement said.

Rabbi Effy Block of the local Chabad of St Kilda described the incident as clearly antisemitic. “Thank God no people were harmed,” he told AFP. “But this is a continuing escalation, where we see these events happening again and again.”

“My Jewish community in St Kilda and Melbourne do not feel safe in their own homes and country,” he added.

The incident comes amid heightened concern over hate crimes in Australia. Authorities have been moving to tighten laws and penalties following a December 14 mass shooting at a Hanukkah festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15 people, AFP reported.