Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation's Jewish community.

A man has been charged over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation in antisemitic violence in Australia’s second-most populous city.

Angelo Loras, 34, of Sydney, who describes himself as Iranian, suspected of starting blaze at entrance to East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation building while 20 people were inside