Counter-terrorism police investigate arson attacks on London synagogues

Three attacks on Jewish sites in one week prompted arrests and investigation into possible Iranian links.

British counter-terrorism police arrested two people in connection with an arson attack on Kenton United Synagogue in northwest London that occurred shortly after midnight on Sunday.¹²⁴ A 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were taken into custody overnight.⁴ The fire caused minor smoke damage to an internal room, with no injuries reported.⁴

The incident was the third attack on Jewish sites in London within a week.¹² On Friday night, police reported an attempted arson attack on business premises with links to the Jewish community.¹²⁴ Earlier in the week, two suspects were arrested over an attempted arson attack on another synagogue in the capital.¹²⁴

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK was gathering momentum.¹² "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 on X.¹²

Vicki Evans, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said most of the attacks have been claimed by the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group, also known as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.³ The group has also claimed several incidents at places of worship as well as business and financial institutions in Europe in recent months, she said.³ Evans said police were aware of public reporting that this group may have links to Iran and were considering whether Iran's tactic of recruiting criminal proxies was being used in the attacks.³

Police also briefly cordoned off an area near the Israeli embassy in London over the weekend following an online report it had been targeted with drones carrying dangerous substances.¹²⁴ Officers later said items recovered did not contain harmful or hazardous materials.¹²⁴

Last month, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.⁴ Attacks on Jewish people and Jewish targets have risen in Britain since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, according to police and community groups.⁴