The Jewish Community Council of Victoria will continue to work tireless to ensure our Jewish community can live safely.

We welcome the visit to East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation today of Premier Jacinta Allan, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, Minister for Police Anthony Carbines and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt.

“It is hard not to be moved when listening to Rabbi Dovid Gutnick and synagogue president Danny Segal, who were in the synagogue with their families when the attack took place,” JCCV President Philip Zajac said. “We are especially grateful that the Victorian Government will support counselling for those who were in the synagogue on Friday night. It was a terrifying evening for all involved, but this was alleviated, in part, by a very uplifting Shabbat service on Saturday morning.”

We welcome the announcement that the Premier will lead an Anti-Hate Taskforce, alongside the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Nicholas Reece, who attended the synagogue immediately after the incident.

“The Victorian Government has been working with Jewish community to put in place measures that restore social cohesion and reduce antisemitism in Victoria,” Zajac said.

The JCCV has participated in the initial meetings of the Local Escalation And Help (LEAH) committee and notes the deepening connections between senior departmental officials and Jewish community leaders around local challenges.

The JCCV has consulted with the Victorian Government on protest law reforms. These laws are complex, and it is essential that they are enforceable. We urge the Government to prioritise the passage of these important reforms at the earliest opportunity.

“The scenes we saw at Miznon, a local restaurant that happens to serve Israeli food, were completely abhorrent. We would urge police to continue reviewing footage from the evening – any offenders that can be identified need to be held to account. The people of Melbourne should be outraged that their quiet enjoyment of our wonderful city is being disrupted in this way. This is impacting our way of life and undermining the sense of safety that every Melburnian deserves.”