A northwest London synagogue has been ‘firebombed’ overnight amid a ‘terrifying spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community’.
Kenton United Synagogue, near Harrow, was targeted on Saturday night, marking the fourth attempted bombing attack on Jewish sites in a month.
Video footage shows the flashing blue lights of police cars blocking the road at the scene, with fire crews also present.
A cordon was set up outside the synagogue, on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the early hours of Sunday morning where police had been seen searching a black SUV nearby.
Forensics officers, fire investigation dogs and plain clothed police were also at the scene.
Early reports had suggested the incendiary device smashed a medical room window, causing internal damage to the building, which is close to a school and children’s playground.
However the attack caused only ‘minor smoke damage’ and there was ‘no significant structural damage’ to the synagogue. No injuries have been reported.
Ashab Al-Yamin has claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing video footage via pro-Iran Telegram channels showing a man walking up to the building with what appears to be petrol bomb and flinging it at the site.
A spokesperson for the Community Security Trust told the Daily Mail: ‘We are aware of another attempted arson, this time targeting a synagogue in north London, following similar recent incidents targeting the Jewish community in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon.
‘On this occasion there was minor smoke damage to an internal room, but there were no injuries and no significant structural damage.
‘We want to thank the Met Police, London Fire Brigade and our CST team for responding quickly and for all they are doing to protect the Jewish community during this unprecedented period.
‘We are supporting the affected location and are working closely with the police as they investigate and seek to identify those responsible.
‘We urge people to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity, at any time of day or night, to the police immediately on 999 and then to CST.’
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: ‘Last night yet another synagogue, this time in Kenton, was targeted in a cowardly arson attack.
‘It follows the attack in Finchley on Wednesday and the attempted attack on what was the Jewish Futures building in Hendon on Friday night, making three Jewish sites attacked in London in less than a week.
‘A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum.
‘This sustained attack on our community’s ability to worship and live in safety is an attack on the values that bind us all together.
‘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.’
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the incident marked a ‘terrifying spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community’, adding that ‘Britain is fundamentally a different country now’.
A spokesperson for the group said: ‘A synagogue in London was firebombed last night in what is now terrifyingly becoming a spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community.
‘It betrays a cataclysmic failure of the state – politicians, police chiefs and prosecutors – to tackle antisemitic extremism in this country, which has gone largely unchecked for two and a half years. Britain is fundamentally a different country now.
‘Still the Government refuses to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an obvious first step to address foreign radicalisation and interference.
‘It is shocking that concern for the sensitivities of a violent Iranian regime is more important to the Government than the welfare of Jewish people in this country.’
Kenton United Synagogue has responded to the attack, saying the Jewish community refuses to be ‘deterred’ or ‘intimidated’ by violence.
Saul Taylor, the synagogue’s president, said: ‘We are yet again deeply saddened by the arson attacks that have taken place this weekend, including the attack on Kenton United Synagogue, one of our own communities.
‘A synagogue is not just a building, it is a place of worship, community and – theoretically – safety. To target it in this way is a deeply disturbing act that strikes at the heart of Jewish life.
‘Thank God no one was hurt and we are grateful to the emergency services and Community Security Trust for their swift response today.
‘The Government and local police forces have responded well to the recent appalling attacks including Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation and Hatzola ambulances, but it is clear that more must be done to prevent these attacks occurring at all.
‘The Prime Minister should declare publicly what the Jewish community has known for some time: this is an epidemic of anti-Jewish hate.’
He added: ‘The Kenton community and the wider United Synagogue will not be deterred…We will not be intimidated, and we will remain strong and united in the face of hatred.’
And Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, also said the Jewish community ‘will not be intimidated by these cowardly acts of hate, which are an attack on Britain and its values, and on the security and cohesion of everyone in our country’.
The Daily Mail has approached the Met and London Fire Brigade for comment.
The Kenton attack comes after arsonists targeted a Jewish business in Hendon earlier this week.
The same Islamist group that launched drones at the Israeli Embassy on Friday has claimed responsibility for the attack, posting a video on what appears to be Telegram showing a person setting a bag alight and leaving it outside the building.
Police were called at 10.31pm on Friday to reports of the arson attack. The force said a man was seen approaching a row of shops with a plastic bag containing what was later found to be three bottles containing fluid.
The Met said: ‘He placed the bag next to the building and lit the items in the bag. The bottles failed to fully ignite and the man fled the scene.
‘Minor damage was caused to the shopfront and no injuries were reported.
‘The investigation into the incident is being led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, supported by officers from the North West Command Area. It is not being treated as a terrorist incident and officers are keeping an open mind about the motive behind the attack.’
No arrests have yet been made as of Saturday evening.
The Met said last night it has increased resources in northwest London ‘following a series of arson and attempted arson attacks’ in the area.
Uniformed and plain clothed officers will step up their presence, and armed response vehicles and Counter Terrorism Policing resources have also been deployed, the force said.
On Tuesday night another attempted arson attack saw two balaclava-clad suspects throw bottles thought to contain petrol at a north London synagogue.
The incident, which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, happened at Finchley Reform Synagogue in Fallow Court Avenue, North Finchley, overnight.
Two suspects approached the site shortly after midnight and threw two bottles, suspected to contain petrol, and a brick at the building.
It came weeks after four Hatzola ambulances were firebombed outside a different synagogue in nearby Golders Green on March 23.
The firebombing caused gas canisters in the ambulances, from Hatzola, a volunteer-led service, to explode.
Three men – Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old boy, were charged with arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
