A series of antisemitic attacks in Australia, including an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne and a violent raid on an Israeli-owned restaurant, has Jews in the Australian city living in fear and demanding officials take action. 

The first attack occurred when assailants started a fire outside the exterior doors of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation. Around 20 worshipers were eating Shabbat dinner inside, according to SBS News. The police have not yet categorized the incident a terror attack.

Avi Yemini, chief reporter for Rebel News Online in Australia, said the fire brigade’s rapid response kept "yet another synagogue in this city from being destroyed in a terror attack, like the firebombing of the Adas Israel Synagogue last year, which remains unsolved."

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Later that same evening, some 20 masked extremists terrorized diners at Israeli-owned restaurant Miznon. According to The Jerusalem Post, protesters chanted "death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)" and threw chairs and glassware at the restaurant.

Yemeni told Fox News Digital protesters were "causing absolute mayhem" and escalated "to violence against patrons and the destruction of property, ultimately sending terrified diners running for safety." 

One protester was arrested by Victoria Police but was released and issued a summons.

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SBS News also reported that Victoria Police are investigating a third incident, in which offenders set fire to three vehicles, destroying one, and spray-painted a nearby wall. A police commander declined to say whether the painting’s content was antisemitic but described all three incidents as containing "inferences of antisemitism." 

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), issued a statement on X and urged that "all sides of politics and all Australians to condemn these deplorable crimes." 

"Those who chant for death are not peace activists. Those who would burn houses of prayer with families inside do not seek an end to war," Ryvchin said. 

Noting the "violent ideology at work in our country that operates on the fringes of politics and social movements," Ryvchin said "those responsible cannot be reasoned with or appeased. They must be confronted with the full force of the law."

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Yemini said Friday’s attacks demonstrate how "emboldened" protesters have become. 

"Since October 7, Victoria Police — under the direction of the government — have allowed anti-Israel protesters to effectively hold Melbourne hostage," he said. 

Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli minister of foreign affairs, also strongly condemned the attacks, saying there "have been too many antisemitic attacks in Australia," and he called on the Australian government to "do more to fight this poisonous disease."

Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, the ECAJ counted 2,062 antisemitic incidents in Australia.

After a Texas flood killed at least 32 people Friday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem addressed criticism about notification prior to the flood, saying the administration is working on updating the National Weather Service and NOAA's "neglected" and "ancient" systems.

Citing her time in Congress and as governor of South Dakota, Noem said that while the weather is difficult to predict, there have been instances when officials and citizens expressed the need for quicker warning and clearer notification before deadly weather.

"That is one of the reasons that, when President [Donald] Trump took office, he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology," Noem said during a news conference with state officials Saturday afternoon. 

"The National Weather Service has indicated that with that and the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] (NOAA), we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years."

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The National Weather Service told Noem its notifications department started to look at expansion of its limited flood impact area at 1:18 p.m. local time Thursday, about 12 hours before the tragedy.

Though a flood watch was issued, Noem described it as a "moderate" alert.

"When the [weather] system came over the area, it stalled," she said. "It was much more water, much like [what] we experienced during [Hurricane] Harvey, with the same type of system that was unpredictable in the way that it reacted in the way that it stopped right here and dumped unprecedented amounts of rain that caused a flooding event like this."

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Initial reports indicated heavy rain Friday morning caused the Guadalupe River to rise nearly 30 feet in 45 minutes. 

Weather service employees told Noem they continued to elevate notifications, though those alerts likely would have come through in the early morning hours when local residents were asleep.

Texas officials on Saturday confirmed at least 32 deaths, including 14 children.

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One of the hardest hit areas was Camp Mystic, an all-girls private Christian camp in Hunt, Texas. 

As of Saturday afternoon, 27 young girls remain missing.

"I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump, and we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that may have felt like a failure to you and to your community members," Noem told a reporter. 

"We know that everybody wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long, to make sure that families have as much advanced notice as possible," she added.

Noem said reform is ongoing, though she did not announce a specific timeline.