Yumi Friedman was studying religious texts this morning at Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea when he heard a loud bang on the door.
The targeted attack has left the Jewish community in shock, with Friedman calling the firebombing “antisemitic”.
Firefighters and police arrived at the scene just after 4am, after Friedman fled to his store nearby to alert authorities.
He suffered injuries to his hand after returning to the scene.
“When I came back after calling police, there wasn’t much of a fire inside. I thought I would go inside, I opened the door and touched something and it was hot.
“It happened within minutes. I saw people doing it, they threw a petrol can in there as well.”
Speaking in the hours following the fire, Friedman said he felt “very scared” in the community.
Police are investigating the firebombing and said a witness spotted two masked intruders spreading accelerant around the building.
The witness left and police were alerted.
Detective Inspector Chris Murray from Victoria Police’s arson and explosive squad said investigators are studying CCTV images from the local area to identify the pair.
“Our first and foremost priority is to identify those individuals that are responsible for this.
“We believe it was deliberate, we believe it has been targeted. What we don’t know is why. We’ll get to the why.”
