LONDON (AP) — British police hunted three suspects on Tuesday over an arson attack on a Jewish charity’s ambulances and pledged to step up security around a community that feels increasingly at risk.
The blaze in Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, consumed four ambulances belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest. Oxygen cylinders on the vehicles exploded, breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block. Also shattered was the community’s shaky sense of security, already strained by wars in the Middle East and what many say is soaring hatred of Jews.
“We’re feeling vulnerable,” said Damon Hoff, president of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, where the ambulances were parked. Some of the building’s stained-glass windows were damaged in the blast.
“We know what’s going on,” Hoff said. “Nobody’s eyes are closed. We’re living through wars. There’s multiple fronts, and Britain is a part of it, and our community is a tiny little part of a very, very big world.”
The UK Jewish community has deep roots
Britain’s Jewish community is long-established but tiny as a percentage of the population, numbering about 300,000. The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicenters, home to kosher restaurants, multiple Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues.
The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war, according to the Community Security Trust, which works to protect the Jewish community. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up …