Starmer 'appalled' at antisemitic attacks

Arson attempt hits London synagogue; Iran-linked group claims attack

UK Chief Rabbi Mirvis: A ‘sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community’; no injuries reported; counter-terror police investigating

A synagogue in northwest London was targeted in an arson attack overnight Sunday, officials said, in the latest in a string of assaults in recent weeks that Britain’s chief rabbi called a “sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community.”

There was minor smoke damage to a room inside Kenton United Synagogue, the Community Security Trust (CST) said, after police and fire teams were called to the Jewish house of worship.

A pro-Iranian government Islamist group, which says it is also behind a spate of attacks across Europe on US, Israeli and Jewish targets, said on Sunday afternoon that it was responsible for the overnight attack.

UK counter-terrorism police, in the wake of the incident, said they were heading up investigations into the incidents.

“Last night yet another synagogue, this time in Kenton, was targeted in a cowardly arson attack,” Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on X. “A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum.”

“Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society,” he said.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled by recent attempted antisemitic arson attacks.”

“This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” Starmer said, adding that “we are increasing visible policing and those responsible will be found and brought to justice. We will not rest in the pursuit of perpetrators.”

The newly founded Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), or Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, said in a statement published on Telegram on Sunday afternoon that it had targeted Kenton United Synagogue because it is “one of the centers of Zionist influence in the British capital.”

The synagogue, it claimed, “holds ceremonies such as ‘Shabbat for Israel,’ and sings the so-called ‘Hatikvah’ anthem in support of the Israeli occupation.”

Among other perceived crimes, it said the synagogue had hosted relatives of one of the hostage soldiers abducted by Hamas in the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack.

Identifying the synagogue’s leadership by name, the group accused them of being “key instruments of this Zionist base in London.”

Separately, the UK’s The Sunday Times said the Islamist group has also claimed responsibility for a Friday night arson attack on a London building that was formerly used by a Jewish organization.

The attack targeted a building in north London’s Hendon neighborhood that still displayed the sign for Jewish Futures, an educational organization. There were no injuries.

The newspaper added that British police are examining whether HAYI is a front for Iran’s security forces.

A British security source told the outlet that a string of recent attacks in London by the group amount to “psychological warfare” against Jews.

“As the conflict in the Middle East continues to evolve, counter-terrorism policing and our partners remain alive to the threat of Iranian hostile activity in the UK,” Vicki Evans, Britain’s senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, told reporters.

“We are aware of public reporting that suggests this group may have links to Iran. As you would expect, we will continue to explore that question as our investigation evolves.”

Given the spate of attacks, CST urged all Jewish institutions to strictly adhere to security protocols.

On Friday, British police said they were investigating a security incident near the Israeli Embassy after HAYI posted online that it had targeted the premises with drones carrying “dangerous substances.” On Saturday, Metropolitan Police announced the incident was over and no hazardous materials had been found.

The group also claimed responsibility for an arson attack was carried out on a synagogue in nearby Finchley on Wednesday.

On Wednesday evening, a burning object was thrown at the offices of Persian media outlet Iran International, which is heavily critical of Iran’s clerical leadership. HAYI said it was behind that attack as well.

In late March, four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green, also in north London.

The group has claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks across Europe on American, Israeli and Jewish targets, including in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Monitoring groups have reported an upsurge in antisemitic incidents in Britain, particularly since the start of the war Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7, 2023.

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 instances of anti-Jewish hate across the UK last year, a four percent rise on 2024, but down on 2023.

Reuters contributed to this report.