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.

A New South Wales man is due to face court in Melbourne over a fire at a synagogue that has drawn condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu.