Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, north London, with police saying they were treating the incident as an anti-Semitic hate crime.
British Prime Miniter Keir Starmer denounced it as a shocking attack on London’s Jewish community, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan called it cowardly.
“This is a deeply shocking anti-Semitic arson attack. My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news,” Starmer said.
Photo: AP
“Anti-Semitism has no place in our society. Anyone with any information must come forward to the police,” he added.
“This is a cowardly attack on the Jewish community. I am in close contact with the police who are stepping up patrols in the area, and I urge anyone with information to come forward. Londoners will never be cowed by this kind of hatred and intimidation,” Khan said.
The UK’s chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described the incident as a “sickening assault — not only on the Jewish community, but on the values we share as a society.”
Photo: AFP
Officers were called to Highfield Road in Golders Green at about 1:45am yesterday after receiving reports of a fire.
The ambulances were run by Jewish charity Hatzola, which was established in 1979 and is run by volunteers, providing free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in north London.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it had sent six fire engines and about 40 firefighters to the fire, which damaged four vehicles.
Several cylinders on the vehicles exploded and caused windows to break in an adjacent block of flats, it said.
No injuries were initially reported.
The Metropolitan police confirmed the incident was being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime.
“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent inquiries. 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,” said Superintendent Sarah Jackson, who leads policing in the area.
“There have been no arrests yet, and we would urge anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible — you can do so anonymously if you wish. We will be engaging with faith leaders and carrying out additional patrols in the local area as we continue our investigation to provide reassurance and a highly visible presence,” she said.
Shomrim, a non-profit organization which operates a neighborhood watch in the Golders Green neighborhood, said it was “aware of loud explosions” early yesterday.
“Emergency services are on scene following a deliberate incident involving #Hatzola ambulances being set alight,” the group said in a post on X. “The explosions were caused by oxygen tanks not a bomb or explosive device. Although some buildings have been evacuated no casualties have been reported. Please avoid the area while investigations continue.”
Shomrim said the facility run by Hatzola remained fully operational.
Dean Cohen, a Golders Green ward councilor who was at the scene, told Jewish News the fact the incident had taken place in the “car park of a synagogue is particularly chilling and will send shock waves through our community at a time of already heightened fears over anti-Semitism in the UK.”
The Community Security Trust confirmed in a statement on X that it was assisting police in their inquiries.
“We are aware of multiple Hatzola ambulances that have been deliberately set alight in London,” it said. “This has obvious comparison to similar anti-Semitic arson attacks recently in Belgium and the Netherlands. No injuries have been reported at this time and we are helping MPSBarnet with their inquiries.”
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