Two arrested after threatening Jewish worshippers with fake gun

Police charged the suspects with weapon and stalking-related offenses after stopping their vehicle nearby.

By World Israel News Staff

Two men have been arrested in Sydney, Australia, after they allegedly pointed what appeared to be a handgun at worshippers gathered outside a synagogue on Saturday.

The incident took place outside a Chabad synagogue in Double Bay, an eastern suburb of Sydney.

According to Australia’s ABC News, congregants contacted police after seeing two men inside a Toyota SUV allegedly pointing what appeared to be a firearm at people assembled outside the synagogue following Sabbath services.

Officers quickly located and stopped a vehicle matching the description a short distance from the scene. Australian media identified the occupants as 22-year-old Neils Baholet and 25-year-old Merouan Meye.

Police determined that the object was not a functioning firearm but a replica pistol. Authorities arrested both men, but they were later released on bail under conditions that prohibit them from entering Double Bay while the case proceeds through the courts.

According to Australian media reports, the men have been charged with using an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offense, possessing an unauthorized pistol and stalking-related offenses.

Rabbi Yanki Berger, who leads the Chabad congregation, sought to reassure members of the community in an email following the incident.

“Police have informed us that the two suspects, French nationals, have been charged with several offenses,” Berger wrote, according to the Australian Jewish News. “The weapon was found to be fake — a squirt gun. The police investigation is ongoing.”

Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the incident reflects an increasingly hostile environment confronting Jewish Australians.

“We’ve seen so many incidents in recent times involving acts of threats of violence directed at the Jewish community, so it no longer comes as a surprise,” he told ABC News.

He stressed that the suspects had targeted “a group of Jewish Australians who were doing nothing more than attending a Sabbath service as they do every week.”