The Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Taj el-Din al Hilaly, last seen at LGF marching in a demonstration with thousands of Hizballah supporters, now acts surprised that a synagogue was attacked in Sydney: Cleric slams synagogue attack. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

The Parramatta and District Synagogue in Sydney’s west came under attack about 9.10pm yesterday when a block of cement was hurled through the glass doors of an attached residence and the windows of two cars on the property were smashed.

Police are investigating the possibility that the attack was religiously motivated.

“There’s nothing to indicate that, [but] that is obviously one of our lines of inquiry,” Inspector Troy Platten said.

Taj el-Din al Hilaly today said those responsible for the attack were not religious people.

“This is a very bad action. I condemn any terrorism attack. Australia is the land of peace,” he told reporters at Sydney’s Lakemba mosque.

He said that, even though a person from Bondi had died fighting for Israel, he did not want any of the Middle East conflict to be imported to Australia.

“We will not allow any member of our community to go and fight for Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said. “We refused to import these problems into Australia.”

But the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO, Vic Alhadeff, said the attack was “most certainly” related to the war between Israel and Lebanon.

“It’s very unfortunate when the violence in the Middle East is played out in the streets of Australia and the Jewish community believes very firmly that the dispute in the Middle East should be resolved in the Middle East,” Mr Alhadeff said. “It’s an unfortunate reality that, when there is an upsurge in the Middle East, there’s a commensurate increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney, in Australia.”

Islamic Friendship Association of Australia spokesman, Keysar Trad, questioned the conclusions of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

“Do they have evidence for that?” Mr Trad said. “My view is that we should not jump to conclusions at this stage and [we should] allow the police to conduct investigations unhindered.”

Mr Trad said it was wrong to vandalise places of worship.

“The Israeli aggressions in the Middle East are in the Middle East and these aggressions do not give anyone the right to attack a place of worship in Australia or anywhere in the world for that matter,” he said.

“I would like to say to every Australian, whether they are from a Middle Eastern background or not, that you can help bring an end to this aggression by making political representation.”