London — British police searched for three suspects on Tuesday arson attack on a Jewish charity’s ambulance and pledged to step up security around a community that feels threatened.
Four ambulances belonging to the voluntary organization Hatzolah Northwest were destroyed in a fire in Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population. Oxygen cylinders on the vehicles exploded, shattering the windows of an adjacent apartment block. The community’s shaky sense of security was also shattered, already strained by the wars in the Middle East and as many say Growing hatred towards Jews.
“We feel unsafe,” said Damon Hoff, president of the Machzik Hadath synagogue, where the ambulances were parked. Some of the building’s stained glass windows were damaged in the explosion.
“We know what’s happening,” Hof said. “Nobody’s eyes are closed. We are living between wars. There are many fronts, and Britain is a part of it, and our community is a small part of a very, very big world.”
Britain’s Jewish community is long established, but small as a percentage of the population, numbering around 300,000. The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicentres, home to kosher restaurants, several Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents reported across Britain has increased following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. gaza warAccording to the Community Security Trust, which works to protect the Jewish community. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.
An attacker in October 2025 ran his car over people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and stabbed a man to death. Another person died after the attack accidentally shot by police.
Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the ambulance arson attack, and are investigating a claim of responsibility posted on social media by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yameen al-Islamiyya, which translates as Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.
The Israeli government has called it a recently established group with suspected ties to a pro-Iranian network. Also took responsibility for the synagogue attacks In Belgium and the Netherlands.
Mark Rowley, head of London’s Metropolitan Police, said detectives were investigating the claim but it was too early to attribute the attack to the Iranian state.
Britain has accused Iran of using criminal disguises to carry out attacks targeting European soil opposition media outlets And the Jewish community. Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 says it has foiled more than 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots by October.
Two men in London last week allegations were made Britain’s Jewish community was subjected to “hostile” surveillance by Iran last year.
Many British Jews believe that hostilities also lie closer to home.
Some members of the community criticize Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labor Party government for failing to prevent pro-palestinian demonstration Prevented from engaging in anti-Semitic speech and acts effective October 7, 2023. The protests have been extremely peaceful, but some politicians and religious leaders chant chants such as “Say from river to seaPalestine will be free” inciting anti-Jewish hatred.
Some people also say that U.K. Recognition of Palestinian state Anti-Semitism has increased – a claim the government rejects.
Pro-Palestinian protesters, including some Jews, say criticism of Israel’s actions does not constitute anti-Semitism, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have conflated the two.
Rowley said London’s police force would increase security at Jewish schools, synagogues and community centers ahead of Passover next month, including “highly visible firearms patrols.”
Jack Taub, a member of the Machzaik Hadath Synagogue leadership team, said authorities “need to do much more” to protect the Jewish community.
He said the attack was tragic but not surprising “given the hatred against Jewish people in the country.”
Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism, whose community is just down the street from where the attack occurred, said there was a sense all the time of things getting closer.
“People are certainly concerned,” he told The Associated Press. “However, the other thing to say is that there is a very strong determination to continue Jewish life. Judaism is nothing if not deeply flexible.”
The attacks have left some British Jews wondering whether they should move somewhere safe – and wondering whether such a place exists.
“Israel is not the safest place in the world right now,” Wittenberg said. “Certainly people are thinking, you know, Israel is my safe place. But I think there’s also a feeling of, is there a safe place anywhere?”
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Associated Press journalist Kyoung Ha contributed to this story.
