Melbourne car firebombed during Christmas season, suspected antisemitic attack follows deadly Bondi Hanukkah shooting

A vehicle displaying a “Happy Chanukkah” sign was set alight in a firebombing attack during the early hours of Christmas morning in an inner Melbourne suburb, with authorities investigating the incident as suspected antisemitism. According to the 9News website, Victoria Police said the billboard sign referenced Chanukkah, also known as Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights. The festival is observed from December 14 to December 22.

The attack comes during the festive season, a time when communities gather to celebrate with family and friends. Emergency crews were dispatched to a residence on Balaclava Drive in St Kilda East just before 3 am after a car fitted with a mobile billboard was found on fire.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as “another terrible act of suspected antisemitism,” saying, “There is no place in Australia for this kind of hatred and it has to stop,” while Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said it was “not what any family, street or community deserves to wake up to on Christmas Day in Australia.”


No one was in the car at the time, residents were evacuated as a precaution, and police say they have identified a person who may be able to assist with the investigation.

Follows the deadly Bondi beach attack

The incident comes just over a week after a terror attack killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach in Sydney, and police are urging anyone with dashcam footage, CCTV vision or information to contact Crime Stoppers.

Authorities say the attack was carried out by a father-and-son duo, 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram. The pair conducted firearms training ahead of the assault, and investigators found improvised explosive devices at the scene.

In response, the New South Wales Police Force shot two alleged gunmen at the scene, killing one and critically injuring the other, who was later detained and identified as the son of the deceased.

Numerous world leaders and Australian authorities condemned the Bondi Beach shooting as an antisemitic attack. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described it as a deliberate assault on Jewish people during the first day of Hanukkah.