A stolen car was set alight in an arson attack on Alexandra Street in Melbourne – an area with a large number of Orthodox Jewish families – on Thursday night local time.

Emergency services responded around 9:10 p.m. after reports of a silver SUV engulfed in flames. Footage captured by a stunned local shows an individual pouring accelerant through the car’s window before igniting it, causing a powerful explosion heard blocks away. The suspect is then seen fleeing in a getaway vehicle.

The fire damaged a nearby tree and other parked vehicles, but no injuries were reported.

The incident occurred in the heart of St Kilda East’s Jewish neighborhood, just steps from a shul and several Jewish schools, raising immediate alarm within the kehilla.

Victoria Police insist the attack was not racially, religiously, or politically motivated, but some locals remain unconvinced.

“Police are investigating a suspicious car fire which occurred in St Kilda East this evening. Fire crews arrived and extinguished the blaze,” a police spokesperson said. “The incident is not racially, religiously, or politically motivated.”

Despite these reassurances, the Jewish community is on edge. The arson follows a troubling pattern of antisemitic incidents in Melbourne, including the recent torching of the historic Adas Yisroel shul, which sustained severe damage. This latest attack, occurring in a Jewish neighborhood, has left residents questioning whether the kehilla is being deliberately targeted again.

The Australian Jewish Association took to social media, posting that they would “continue to monitor to see if there is a connection.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)