A Melbourne man who set fire to the East Melbourne Synagogue while around 20 worshippers were inside has been found by a judge to have acted due to mental illness, not antisemitism. Angelo Loras pleaded guilty to arson and endangering lives, but the magistrate determined his actions were driven by untreated schizophrenia. Loras was sentenced to four months in prison, less than the time he had already served, and was ordered to undergo medical treatment and perform unpaid work. The incident occurred amid a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Australia, with other attacks on Jewish sites in Melbourne and Sydney recently attributed by authorities to foreign interference.