Human Rights Voices

Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in north London were set ablaze outside a synagogue in an antisemitic hate crime, officials said on Monday.

‘An investigation has been launched after four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service were set on fire in Golders Green,’ the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. ‘Officers remain on scene and the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.’

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer decried the incident as ‘a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.’

‘My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news,’ he posted on X. ‘Antisemitism has no place in our society. Anyone with any information must come forward to the police.’

The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a Jewish not-for-profit volunteer organization that responds to medical emergencies.

The London Fire Brigade said it sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the scene. Calls from residents were recorded at 1:40 a.m. local time.

‘Multiple cylinders on the vehicles exploded and caused windows to break in an adjacent apartment block. No injuries are reported,’ the fire brigade said.

Nearby homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The London Fire Brigade said the fire was under control by 3:06 local time.

‘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,’ Jackson said, adding that no arrest has been made.

Police stressed the attack was not being treated as a terrorist incident, but the investigation would be led by counter terrorism officers.

‘While this has not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage, the investigation is now being led by counter terrorism policing, with all the specialist expertise they bring and all lines of inquiry remain open,’ Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said. He added that while they were aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for the attack, they needed to establish its authenticity and said: ‘it is not something we can confirm at this point.’

UK media outlets reported that Ashab al-Yamin, a terror group with ties to Iran, had taken responsibility for the attack on social media.

The group emerged publicly this month and is believed to be linked with Iranian terror networks. Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry said last week the group has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions and arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in Belgium, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. The group also claimed that it had attacked a Jewish site in Greece earlier this month, although it is not clear what that referred to.

The ambulances were parked at the Machzike Hadath Synagogue in Golders Green.

Footage shows three hooded people pouring gasoline on the vehicles and setting them on fire.

Mark Reisner, an eyewitness who lives in the neighborhood, heard loud explosions and arrived at the scene ‘just as the third ambulance was blowing up,’ he told Sky News.

‘A very loud explosion, you sort of felt it go through your guts,’ he said, adding, ‘it’s just left us all reeling with confusion and shock.’

A local official said that the arson attack is ‘utterly shocking, terrifying,’ and that authorities are not taking enough action against growing antisemitism.

‘The targeting of life-saving vehicles stationed in the car park of a synagogue is particularly chilling and will send shockwaves through our community at a time of already heightened fears over antisemitism in the UK,’ local Golders Green councillor Dean Cohen told the Jewish News.

‘It’s beyond time for the authorities to wake up and do more to tackle this hate running riot,’ he said.

Shomrim, a nonprofit organization that operates a neighborhood watch in the area, condemned the attack. ‘This was not only a criminal act of arson, but a targeted and deeply concerning incident affecting a vital emergency service serving the local Jewish community,’ it said in a post on X.

Hours after the incident, two fundraising pages had garnered over half a million pounds in donations for Haztola.

A Charity Extra page received £498,400 ($668,187) by 12.30 p.m. local time, with over 1,900 people making donations. The Ronson Foundation philanthropy organization topped the list with a £200,000 donation.

In addition, a GoFundMe page raised £80,146 ($107,484) in the same time, aiming to reach £125,000.

The Jewish News cited sources saying that Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, who visited Golders Green, spoke with Jewish community leaders and pledged four ambulances to provide services in place of the ones that were destroyed.

‘I’ve got London Ambulance Service providing support today, I’ve got four ambulances arriving later today or tomorrow morning to replace those ambulances destroyed,’ he reportedly said, adding, ‘We will be funding permanent replacements.’

Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain’s estimated 290,000 Jews on security matters, said there was an ‘obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liege, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.’

Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the October 2023 Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel and massacres that triggered the Gaza war. There has been another rise in incidents following the start of the Israeli-US war with Iran.

Since the Gaza conflict started, Britain has recorded significantly higher levels of antisemitic hate than in previous years. The CST recorded 3,700 in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

The most severe antisemitic incident in Britain last year was in October, when an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue to mark the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and stabbed one person to death. Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.