The arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in July, which occurred alongside other attacks on Jewish and Israeli establishments over the same weekend, was broadly considered antisemitic and denounced by officials in Israel and Australia

Washington is making a massive effort to forge a new reality in Lebanon and perhaps it believes that an Israeli show of seriousness can lift negotiations out of the quagmire But Israeli attacks are also connected to other fronts - and appear to be aimed at deflecting fire from Netanyahu's failures