Canberra’s National Jewish Centre was attacked by a firebomb. Rocks were used to try to smash the windows of the building, which also houses the city’s Orthodox synagogue, but the reinforced glass held. Firebombs were thrown, but bounced back. The smoke triggered the building’s smoke alarm.

According to Gary Fellman, president of the centre, “Little damage was done. We were very fortunate the windows didn’t give way.”

A Shabbat service, regularly attended by Israeli embassy staff, took place as usual, followed by a Yom Ha’atzmaut function in the evening.

In Belgium, a series of anti-Jewish incidents — and pro-Palestinian rallies — prompted a public rally by the Jewish community.

Nearly 2,000 Belgian Jews gathered at the synagogue in Anderlecht, a Brussels suburb with a large Muslim population. The shul was firebombed earlier this month.

Organised by community organisations as a protest against racism and anti-Semitism, the rally went off without incident. Within 24 hours, however two more attacks on Jewish sites had taken place.

In Charleroi, south of Brussels, a gun attack left a synagogue with 18 bullet-holes, while in Brussels the windows of a Jewish-owned furniture shop were daubed with graffiti and swastikas.

A synagogue in Antwerp was also firebombed earlier this month, and last week a building housing a Jewish bookshop and kosher delicatessen was burned down.

Two weeks ago, a window in a Jewish travel agency in Brussels was pelted with stones. In Antwerp, pro-Palestinian demonstrators smashed the windows of several Jewish shops.

“Anti-Semitism is resurfacing in a different form,” said Guy Weissberg, 40, a local businessman. “The events in Israel are being used as an excuse for attacks against Jews.”