Police have charged a man for ramming his vehicle into the front gates of a synagogue in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday evening.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli tweeted on Saturday that “This will be very distressful for the Jewish community in Queensland. I have spoken to Jewish leaders, as well as police, and I want to assure Queenslanders we are taking this seriously.”
Crisafulli continued, “This is another signal as to why we have put strong laws before Parliament to protect all people where they worship. … Police will update Queenslanders with further details today.”
— David Crisafulli (@DavidCrisafulli) February 20, 2026
Footage of a Toyota Hilux pickup truck apparently driving into the synagogue’s gates was posted on social media.
Officers said that the vehicle knocked down the gates to the property on Margaret Street in Brisbane City a little after 7 p.m., according to Australia’s SBS News.
The driver fled the scene but was detained shortly thereafter.
The suspect, 32, from Sunnybank, was expected to face Brisbane Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, the report continued.
He is facing charges of willful damage, serious vilification or hate crime.
Man charged with hate crime after Brisbane Synagogue targeted in alleged ramming incident pic.twitter.com/dQaRnsrnMX
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) February 21, 2026
“This attack is not only an attack on my community, it is an attack on all of us,” said Libby Burke, vice president of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies.
She told SBS News, “A synagogue is a sacred space—a place of prayer, reflection and community. To see its gates viciously rammed is profoundly devastating and is not dissimilar to what we have seen throughout the globe.”
Australia’s organized Jewish community last month welcomed hate crime laws passed by the country’s parliament, more than a month after an antisemitic terrorist attack at a Chanukah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach killed 15 people.
The legislation was passed, together with tighter gun laws, after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalled senators and members of the House of Representatives from summer recess early for a special two-day session.
Albanese announced on Jan. 8 that Australia would establish a royal commission to investigate the Bondi Beach massacre. Days after the massacre, he said that the government would fully support and adopt all 13 recommendations of Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, outlined in her July “Plan to Combat Antisemitism.”
