Vandals have smashed windows and set fire to the front of federal Labor MP Josh Burns' Melbourne electoral office, prompting him and other leaders to decry the "politically motivated attack".
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At least five people were seen near the office on Barkly Street in St Kilda about 3.20am on Wednesday, police were told.
The group smashed windows and graffitied the walls in red paint with slogans that read, 'Zionism is fascism'.
Investigators said small fires were lit in the telecommunications pits at the front of the building before the group ran from the scene.
The member for Macnamara, who is Jewish, has been targeted in the past by vandals defacing his election posters.
Police are investigating the circumstances and have shut down Barkly Street in both directions.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Burns said his St Kilda office was damaged in a "politically motivated attack".
"I've been in contact with the Federal Police and am awaiting further advice," he said.
"My team won't be at the office this morning, or until we're told it is safe to do so, but we're still here to help our community and can be contacted by email.
"I understand those who have seen images or vision of the attack might find it distressing."
The attack on Mr Burns' office is a distressing escalation that needs to be dialled back down, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"This has got to be seen as an attack on someone who's a Jewish MP, someone who is running an office that looks after people's interests," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"How people think that they advance their cause through activities like this is beyond me. It does nothing. It undermines the cause that people purport to represent."
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dr Dvir Abramovich said the vandalism on a Jewish MP's office is an "assault on our democracy and our sense of safety".
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell condemned the violence and property damage but said the movement calling for the end to the war in Gaza was largely peaceful.
Federal Labor minister Katy Gallagher said attacks on politicians' offices are "not the way we do politics in Australia".
"This type of criminal activity - vandalism - is outrageous, and we need to make sure that the community understands that this is just not on," she told ABC TV.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with footage has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Australian Associated Press
