‘We are scared, terrified’: London Jews on edge after antisemitic arson attack

LONDON — In London’s Golders Green, with its large Jewish community, residents warned of growing antisemitism Monday after an early morning arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organization.

Local people stopped at the end of the street where the fire took place, to survey the scene as they made their way to school or work. The ambulances were parked right next to a synagogue.

“How could anyone do that to ambulances?” asked Steven, a 65-year-old resident of the north London district, after police said the attack was being treated as “an antisemitic hate crime.”

In Golders Green, many children attend Jewish schools and many restaurants and grocery stores are kosher. Most locals keep the phone number of the Hatzola community ambulance — whose vehicles were destroyed — on their fridges, one resident told AFP.

Hatzola, which was established in 1979 and is operated by volunteers, provides free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in north London.

Many said they were woken up during the night by a loud noise and then saw smoke.

“I’m not surprised that the Jewish community was targeted. It is a continuous ongoing thing,” said Adam Waters, 36, who works for a Jewish community organization. “I am surprised, though, that they targeted ambulances.”

Waters said he feels “safe” in London, but nonetheless has experienced daily “low-level antisemitism,” including “people chanting ‘Jew.’”

“It has increased since the war. But it has happened my whole life,” he added. He also said that he feels “very British” and is “relatively confident” he will stay in London for the rest of his life.

But as for “my son, I don’t know,” he added with concern.

Local mother: Jewish community felt safer in the 1980s

In tense scenes in London on Monday, several men briefly challenged an Al Jazeera camera crew who were present.

Yael Gluck, a mother of two, said, “We are scared, terrified,” adding that the Jewish community felt safer during her childhood in the 1980s.

But “antisemitism is too large now. When it is not happening in London, Manchester, it is in Sweden, Austria. We are not safe anywhere in the world,” she said.

Gluck said she was thinking about moving to Israel and no longer went into central London. “It is not safe for us,” she said.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis vowed: “We’re not going to be intimidated by terrorists, and this was a terrorist attack.”

“Our… volunteer ambulance corps is an extraordinary service, whose sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike,” Mirvis said on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrific news” and urged Britain’s communities to “stand together at a moment like this,” writing on X: “Antisemitism has no place in our society.”

Starmer also held a roundtable with Jewish community representatives at 10 Downing Street in the wake of the attack.

The London Fire Brigade said it was alerted to vehicles on fire Sunday night at Highfield Court in Golders Green, a north London area with a substantial Jewish population, at 1:40 a.m. (0140 GMT).

Some 40 firefighters called to the scene found that the cylinders stored on the vehicles had exploded, breaking windows in a nearby building.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack and said police patrols would be increased in the area.

Iran-linked terror group claims responsibility for arson

The little-known Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) group, meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted on its recently created Telegram channel.

The group, which the SITE monitoring service said was aligned with Iran, has also claimed similar attacks this month in Belgium and in the Netherlands.

Counterterror police are now leading the inquiry, even though it was not yet determined to be a terror attack.

“Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the investigation team,” Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said at the scene.

He added that “CCTV footage appears to show three people in hoods pouring an accelerant on to the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing.”

There have been no arrests yet, and police appealed for information.

While the overnight attack did not cause any injuries, it was distressing for the community, which values the Hatzola ambulance service.

UK Health Minister Wes Streeting said the government would provide four replacement ambulances by Tuesday morning.

The arson attack came after a spate of other antisemitic incidents.

On October 2, 2025, during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, an attack on a synagogue in Manchester killed two and seriously injured three, prompting an outpouring of emotion nationwide and increasing anxiety among Jewish communities.

Last month, a UK court jailed two men for life after police foiled a separate plot to carry out an Islamic State-inspired gun attack on a Jewish gathering in Manchester.

And two Iranians appeared in court in London last week, accused of spying on the Jewish community in London on behalf of Tehran.

Israeli embassy alleges ‘silence and inaction’ in UK

The Israeli embassy in London, which has long criticized Britain for failing to do more to tackle antisemitism, said the fire-bombings followed years of “hate-filled marches” in support of the Palestinians, along with incitement and intimidation.

“Enough is enough,” it said on X, calling for “decisive action to put an end to this climate of intimidation before it spirals further. Silence and inaction are no longer an option.”

President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, posted: “Britain’s Jewish community is one of the oldest and most vibrant in Europe, and it must be able to live, pray, and thrive in safety and security.”

“On behalf of the State of Israel, I send a message of strength and solidarity to our sisters and brothers in the British Jewish community. We in Israel care for every Jew everywhere in the world and embrace you at this difficult moment,” he said.

“We will continue to stand together shoulder-to-shoulder with you in the critical fight against antisemitism.”