London synagogue arson attempt the latest in string of attacks on Jewish community

Police forensic officers work inside a cordon set up near to Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north-west London on April 19, 2026, the scene of an arson attack overnight. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images

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Police in London beefed up their presence around Jewish institutions following a suspected attempt to burn down a synagogue on Saturday, one day after an alleged arson attack on the former offices of a Jewish charity, police said.

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“Uniformed and plain-clothed officers will maintain a strong presence around the borough, including providing reassurance to Jewish places of worship and businesses. Extra stop and search powers have also been introduced across Barnet to help deter acts of violence and target any potential offenders,” the Metropolitan Police wrote in a statement on Saturday night.

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Armed response vehicles and Counter Terrorism Policing resources “have also been deployed to the area to support the increased local policing plan. Police motorbikes and interceptors will also be in and around communities to bolster efforts, the police said.

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The arson in Kenton, northwestern London, on Saturday resulted in “minor damage to an interior room” at the synagogue and no injuries, the Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s security organ and watchdog on antisemitism, said in a statement on Sunday. The statement also said that police had arrived at the scene and were investigating what led to the incident.

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British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called the attack part of “A sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the U.K.” that is “gathering momentum” and “an attack on the values that bind us all together,” in addition to being a “sustained attack on our community’s ability to worship and live in safety.

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“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,” Mirvis noted.

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote on X on Sunday, “There will be a significantly increased police presence in the area, including around Jewish places of worship and businesses. There is no place for antisemitism in our city, and the perpetrators of these despicable attacks will face the full force of the law. London will always stand united against those seeking to divide us.”

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the recent incidents.

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On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said it was probing an arson attack that took place on Friday night in Hendon, also in northern London, against a business that had been previously owned by a Jewish charity.

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The site on Hendon Way still bears signs of the former owner, reading “jewish futures.”

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A man was seen to approach a row of shops with a plastic bag with what was later found to be three bottles containing fluid. He placed the bag next to the building and lit the items in the bag, according to police. The bottles failed to fully ignite and the man fled the scene. On Wednesday, a man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life after two bottles, possibly containing petrol, on the Finchley Reform Synagogue in northern London. Those incidents, too, resulted in minor damage and no injuries.