LONDON (AP) — Counterterror police in Britain were investigating an arson attack at a former London synagogue Tuesday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting to respond to a wave of antisemitic attacks that have caused outrage and fear in the Jewish community.
Gates and a lock on the front of the former temple in the Whitechapel area of east London had minor damage, but no one was injured, Metropolitan Police said.
The incident is the latest since four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity were torched in March. Since then, a synagogue was firebombed and other Jewish sites have been targeted in attempted arson. Last week, two Jewish men were stabbed in what police have called an act of terror.
“It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them,” Starmer told community leaders. “These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis — it is a crisis for all of us.”
The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.
Hate-crime pr …