The temple in the town where I grew up was firebombed when I was a kid back in the 80s. No one was injured, but I imagine Jews in Melbourne are pretty terrified right now.
(And before you say that it's their fault for supporting Israel, plenty of us do not and never have.)
(And before you say that it's their fault for supporting Israel, plenty of us do not and never have.)
Honestly, I have encountered my fair share of people who mistake people for supporters of regimes, and I'm really getting sick of it, like people keep saying that all Jews are Zionists and vice versa, but there really isn't any connection besides the extremely basic surfsce level info.
As a melbournian myself, it's really disappointing such a thing would occur, although that said I'm not surprised. I'm surrounded by peers who overwhelmingly support Palestine to the extent that they even have targeted hatred towards Jews, mostly singing songs glorifying genocide and throwing racial slurs, which I hypothesise could be the case here.
It's to the extent that I am terrified to even mention which side I support, as this group would assault anyone with even slight variation in opinion, and the worst part is that I'm not even able to avoid these individuals as it's a high school with an overwhelming amount of 'free radicals'.
Personally I'm not even on a side currently, there's too much info to sift through about the conflict, so I'd rather wait to form an actual opinion, although I do find I'm siding with Palestine more.
Also, I'd rather not add more stress to my life, I'd rather focus on bettering myself rather than worrying about problems on the other side of the world.
You may live in a different part of Melbourne than myself, as this is my experience in the western suburbs of Melbourne. I'm unsure of what your experience may be, but I'd find it just as valid as my own, since I haven't been everywhere.