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In brief
- Police have responded to what they described as an antisemitic arson attack in north London.
- The ambulances set ablaze belonged to Hatzola, a Jewish non-profit organisation.
Four ambulances owned by a Jewish community organization in north London were set on fire in what UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned as “a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.”
The London Fire Brigade dispatched six fire engines and 40 firefighters to tackle the blaze. The fire caused explosions of multiple cylinders on the vehicles, which shattered windows in a nearby apartment building. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries.
The incident occurred in Golders Green, a northwest London neighborhood known for its substantial Jewish community.
Prime Minister Starmer expressed his outrage over the event, emphasizing its shocking nature.
“My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news,” Starmer stated on X. “Antisemitism has no place in our society.”
Israel’s embassy in the UK said antisemitism was rampant in London and said the firebombing of ambulances was the consequence of years of hate being tolerated in plain sight.
“Enough is enough,” the embassy said on X. “There must be a thorough investigation and decisive action to put an end to this climate of intimidation before it spirals further. Silence and inaction are no longer an option.”
Metropolitan Police said the incident is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries,” police superintendent Sarah Jackson said.
“We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage,” she said, adding that no arrest has been made.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack and said police patrols would be increased in the area.
Attacks on Jewish targets have risen worldwide
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation that responds to medical emergencies.
Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered Israel’s war in Gaza, and Starmer had warned that the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which ignited last month, would stoke tensions further.
He said in early March that the government would work with Muslim and Jewish organisations to ensure that sensitive sites had appropriate security.
In Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) reported that during the twelve-month period from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, there were 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents logged by volunteer Community Security Groups (CSGs), official Jewish state roof bodies, and the ECAJ.
In the 10 years prior to October 2023 (Oct. 2014 – to Sep. 2023) the average annual number of anti-Jewish incidents was 342. In the two years since 7 October 2023, and the subsequent surge in antisemitism, there has been an average of 1,858 incidents per year, according to ECAJ.
Since the conflict, the UK has recorded significantly higher levels of antisemitic hate.
The Community Security Trust (CST) charity recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2025, the second-highest total ever reported to CST in a single calendar year. It was an increase of 4 per cent from the 3,556 anti-Jewish hate incidents recorded by CST in 2024, and 14 per cent lower than the highest ever annual total of 4,298 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023. CST recorded 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, and 2,261 in 2021.
The most severe antisemitic incident in the UK last year was the Manchester synagogue attack that killed two Jewish worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
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