MELBOURNE: A man who set fire to a Melbourne synagogue while worshippers were inside was motivated by mental illness rather than antisemitism, an Australian magistrate said on Monday.
Angelo Loras, 35, had pleaded guilty to arson and recklessly placing people at risk of death on July 4 when he doused the front door of the East Melbourne Synagogue with flammable liquid and ignited it. Around 20 worshippers were inside sharing a Shabbat meal, but no one was injured.
Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have risen sharply across Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023. Government leaders suspected the attack on the synagogue, which is also known as the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, was a hate crime.
The morning after the fire, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a statement saying the arson attack was “cowardly, is an act of violence and antisemitism, and has no place in Australian society.”
But Magistrate Malcolm Thomas ruled on Monday that Loras was not motivated by antisemitism but had been in the grip of a terrifying delusion stemming from his failure to take medication for schizophrenia.
Thomas sentenced Loras to four months’ imprisonment, which is less than 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 to perform unpaid work.
The Australian government has blamed Iran for an earlier arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, which security officers describe as an antisemitic crime aimed at undermining Australian social cohesion.
Australian spy agencies accuse Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards of organizing arson attacks on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in December last year and on a Sydney kosher food business two months earlier. Iran has denied any involvement. Both buildings were extensively damaged.
Loras, who was arrested two days after his arson attack, told police he thought the synagogue was a residential address.
Thomas advised the Jewish congregation not to apply for a restitution order against Loras for the 54,000 Australian dollars ($35,000) in damage he caused because Loras had been homeless for an extended period.
Loras is a former Sydney-based forklift driver who had no previous criminal record.
His arson attack was one of three suspected antisemitic incidents across Melbourne the weekend of July 4 to July 6.
Around 20 masked protesters harassed diners at an Israeli-owned restaurant on July 5. A window was cracked, tables were flipped and chairs thrown as protesters chanted “Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
Police also investigated the spray-painting of a Melbourne business and an arson attack on three vehicles attached to that business before dawn on July 6. Police said they found antisemitic “inferences” at the scene, without elaborating.
Australian judge rules synagogue arsonist was motivated by mental illness, not antisemitism
https://arab.news/pszv5
Australian judge rules synagogue arsonist was motivated by mental illness, not antisemitism
- Angelo Loras had pleaded guilty to arson and recklessly placing people at risk of death on July 4
- An Australian magistrate says a man who set fire to a Melbourne synagogue door while worshippers were inside was motivated by mental illness rather than antisemitism
South Korea police raid spy agency over drone flights into North
SEOUL: Investigators raided South Korea’s spy agency on Tuesday as they probed possible government links to a drone shot down over North Korea earlier this year.
Pyongyang accused Seoul of flying a drone into Kaesong in January, releasing images that purported to show debris from the downed aircraft.
Seoul initially denied the government was involved, with President Lee Jae Myung saying it would be akin to “firing a shot into the North.”
But authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating three active-duty soldiers and one spy agency employee.
Investigators from a joint military-police task force raided 18 locations of interest, including the Defense Intelligence Command and the National Intelligence Service.
“The task force said it will thoroughly establish the truth behind the drone incident through analysis of seized materials and a rigorous investigation of the suspects,” a statement read.
Three civilians have already been charged for their alleged role in the drone scandal.
One of them has publicly claimed responsibility, saying he acted to detect radiation levels from North Korea’s Pyongsan uranium processing facility.
Disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol is currently standing trial on charges he illegally sent drones into North Korea to help create the pretext for declaring martial law in late 2024.
His attempt to overturn civilian rule failed, and Yoon was impeached and ousted from office in April last year.
Provocation and propoganda
Prosecutors have accused Yoon of instructing Seoul’s military to fly drones over Pyongyang and distribute anti-North leaflets in an attempt to provoke a response.
They said Yoon and others “conspired to create conditions that would allow the declaration of emergency martial law.”
North Korea said last year it had proven that the South flew drones to drop propaganda leaflets over its capital.
Lee said in December that he felt an apology was due to North Korea over his predecessor’s alleged order to send drones.
“I feel I should apologize, but I hesitate to say it out loud,” he said at the time.
“I worry that if I do, it could be used as fodder for ideological battles or accusations of being pro-North,” he added.
Lee has taken steps to ease tensions since taking office, including removing propaganda loudspeakers along the border.
Pyongyang unveiled new attack drones in August 2024, with experts saying the capability may be attributable to the country’s budding alliance with Moscow.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un at the time ordered the “mass production” of attack drones, with analysts saying they may be designed to carry explosives and deliberately crash into enemy targets.
North Korea has previously sent trash-filled balloons over the South in what it called retaliation for activists in the South floating anti-regime propaganda missives northwards.
