LONDON – A foiled arson attack on a northwest London synagogue has thrown a harsh spotlight on growing threats targeting British Jewish communities, with the country’s most senior Jewish leader warning that Jews are now facing an escalating, coordinated campaign of violence and intimidation.
The attempted arson at Kenton United Synagogue, which occurred late Saturday, left only minor damage to the building, and no injuries were reported in the incident. It marks the latest in a string of suspicious fires targeting Jewish-associated sites and an Iranian opposition media outlet across the capital over the past month, all of which are now under the direction of counterterrorism investigators.
In a public statement posted to the social platform X on Sunday, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis sounded the alarm over the accelerating danger of the current wave of threats. “A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum,” Mirvis wrote. “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.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded quickly to the incidents, saying he was appalled by the targeted attacks and issuing a firm pledge that all perpetrators would be held accountable. “Those responsible will be found and brought to justice,” Starmer said.
London’s Metropolitan Police has responded by deploying additional uniformed and plainclothes officers to the city’s northwest, the area where most of the recent attacks have been concentrated. The series of incidents began unfolding weeks ago, with targets including multiple synagogues, ambulances operated by a Jewish charity, and the offices of a Persian-language media outlet that is openly critical of the Iranian government. The arson attempt at the Kenton synagogue came just 24 hours after another incident Friday night, when suspects tried to ignite containers of flammable fluid outside the former offices of a London-based Jewish charity.
To date, no one has been hurt in any of the linked incidents. Law enforcement officials have already arrested and charged several suspects, whose ages range from teenagers to people in their 40s. While investigators have not formally connected all of the cases to a single network, Counter Terrorism Policing London took over lead investigative duties due to striking similarities in the attacks and public online claims of responsibility from a little-known group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.
Israeli officials have characterized the group as a newly formed organization with suspected ties to an Iranian proxy network. The group has also claimed responsibility for similar synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands in recent weeks. It also released an online video threatening to carry out a drone attack carrying hazardous materials at Israel’s embassy in London. While no attack was ultimately carried out at the embassy, police closed London’s popular Kensington Gardens park Friday to investigate discarded items that included two jars holding unidentified powder. Tests later confirmed the substances found were not harmful.
British authorities have long accused Iran of orchestrating attacks on European soil through criminal proxy networks, targeting both Iranian opposition outlets and Jewish communities across the continent. MI5, the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency, reported that it disrupted more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots in the 12 months leading up to October this year.
Still, some independent security analysts have urged caution over the group’s claims, noting that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia is more likely a “flag of convenience” – a name used by disparate actors to claim responsibility for attacks – rather than a structured, centralized terrorist organization.