Adass Israel Synagogue vows to rebuild 'bigger and better' after firebombing attack

Benjamin Klein can no longer enter his synagogue through the front door. He has to go down a back alley, unlock a door, and then unzip a plastic contamination shield.

More than three months ago the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed.

The floors have since been cleared of debris, but the scorched walls, burned glass, and the deformed, gaping roof stand witness to what happened.

"It's quite horrendous, quite sad, and I've been in here tens of times since and it hurts every single time I come in," Mr Klein said, standing inside the shell of his place of worship.

Fire damage inside the Adass Israel Synagogue. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

(ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

(ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

Three people broke into the shul in the early hours of December 6 and began pouring accelerant. They were disturbed by worshippers, who were inside studying, but still lit the fire before fleeing.

One corner of the room that used to house holy books stands empty, save for some singed fragments of pages that are stuck to the wall in a showcase of the fire's intensity.

"[The holy books] were all piled on the floor here, burnt, this is where the Jewish burial service came and picked up all the pieces," Mr Klein explained, pointing to a spot on the floor.

In the wake of the attack, the congregation has rallied — they've found a makeshift place to pray, been fundraising for the rebuild of the site, and begun work on a temporary site to move into while the renovation happens.

"We're going to build bigger and better," Mr Klein, who is a member of the synagogue's board, said.

No arrests have been made, which has caused consternation in a city that has the largest Jewish population in the country.

In the initial aftermath there was talk of an impending arrest, but it didn't eventuate.

The local state MP, David Southwick, has told the ABC he was receiving briefings from police members and was told officers were "very close to making an arrest" late last year.

"I thought, well, this is great, literally weeks after the event, and then, then it just went radio silence," he said.

"I respect the police work, and everyone's taking it very, very seriously, but I think just that there was some false hopes early on."

He said that has left people feeling a "little bit let down", noting an outcome in the investigation will be "so important to get closure".

Investigation 'top priority'

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert was at the synagogue the morning after the attack.

"The mood that that day was palpable. It was — it was horrible," he said.

"You could actually see, hear, feel how devastated they were at the damage, and it wasn't just the community from the synagogue, it was the broader community."

Every week he calls Mr Klein, or another member of the congregation, to update them on the investigation "as best [he] can".

He told the ABC he understands the community frustration but is confident of the work being done by local, ASIO, and Australian Federal Police officers, as part of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, saying it was their "number one investigation".

"I've got a lot of faith in them, and we're backing them to get the result and get some justice for the community."

He said investigators will go through "a number of a avenues of inquiry … meticulously and methodically".

"When they are ready for an arrest, they will do so, and they'll let the community know."

Three days after the arson attack, another special AFP operation was establish to investigate reports of other antisemitic attacks in the country and has received more than 100 reports.

Balaclavas, silence and brooms

The details of the attack speak to a level of professionalism; the attackers wore balaclavas, were using brooms to spread the accelerant and not speaking, even when the congregation members yelled at them.

In New South Wales, police investigating antisemitic attacks have said they believe people had been paid to carry out the attack on behalf of others.

Mr Southwick said he was "sure" there were "people up the line" involved in "calling for" the Melbourne attack.

Assistant Commissioner Gilbert said he "didn't get a sense" that an arrest had been postponed to allow investigation of others potentially involved.

"The investigation, as I said, is complex," he explained.

"It's an arson investigation. It's suspected terrorism. Everything needs to be done correctly, and that's exactly what they're doing."

Police patrols have been increased in the area, and Assistant Commissioner Gilbert said he has been astonished with the attitude of the congregation leaders.

"Each time I meet with them, its about the positivity of the rebuild — what can they do to bring something back, bigger and better for the community?"

Hopes section of synagogue built by Holocaust survivors can be saved

It's not the first time the synagogue has been targeted.

In 1995 it was severely damaged in an arson attack, when Mr Klein's grandfather was the president.

He remembers being seven years old and his father bringing home the newspaper.

"On the front page was my grandpa standing there, and he was himself a Holocaust survivor," he paused and involuntarily touched his chest.

"Sorry. It was really quite, quite unbelievable, (him) standing in the ruins of a synagogue in Melbourne, where he ran away from all that."

Mr Klein said he was "sort of half glad" his grandfather wasn't here to see the latest attack.

The original part of the synagogue was built by a group of holocaust survivors, and there are now high hopes that it will be able to be saved.

While final building inspections are still underway to check the safety of the roof and one of the walls, Mr Klein said it would be a "big relief" for people if it is spared.

"The walls have seen and have felt decades and decades of people praying," he said.

Following the 1995 attack, the congregation had fire-proof safes and Torah Arks installed to protect the sacred scrolls, something that saved many this time around.

Several other synagogues in the country have reached out for details about the arks and safes in the wake of the latest attack.

'We will rebuild'

It will likely take two to three years to rebuild the synagogue, in the interim a lease on a temporary site has been taken out and it is being refitted.

It's hoped it will be ready within weeks.

However, there is no room for the women's gallery at the temporary site, because of size restrictions, meaning only men will be able to attend, something that will undoubtedly be difficult for the female members of the community.

Mr Klein said the congregation has had "strong support" from the state and federal governments, with the prime minister appointing a special envoy give them "open channels" to his office.

But it is the support of individuals that has perhaps had the greatest impact.

"There was a gentleman out of Forest Hill, who is not Jewish, but he told me that he took three modes of transport to come here just to give a couple of dollars to the donation rebuild," Mr Klein recalled.

Mr Southwick said he had similar experiences with members of the public, who know the synagogue is in his electorate, including one man who put $50 in the MP's pocket and asked for it to be donated to the congregation.

"It's not something that's just hit the Jewish community, but the whole of Australia," he said.

Mr Klein recently met with an international interfaith group that travelled to the synagogue to show support.

"We thought it was important to come here and express our solidarity — with the entire Jewish community here in Melbourne, and in Australia, in these difficult times," Rabbi David Sandmel, the president of the International Council of Christians and Jews, said.