Unknown assailants attempt to set fire to synagogue in London

Police at the Finchley Reform Synagogue in London. Photo: The Guardian

In north London, two unidentified individuals wearing masks and dark clothing attempted to set fire to the Finchley Reform Synagogue. According to The Guardian, shortly before midnight the assailants threw a brick and two bottles containing flammable liquid toward the building.

Police said the gasoline-filled bottles did not ignite, so the synagogue was not damaged and no one was injured. Detectives from the counterterrorism command joined the investigation and classified the attack as an antisemitic act.

“This is clearly an attempt to intimidate the British Jewish community, but we will not be deterred by these cowardly acts,” said the synagogue’s senior cleric, Cantor Zoe Jacobs. She stressed that, despite the psychological strain, the community would continue its humanitarian work, including running a shelter for the homeless and a nursery school.

The Jewish Leadership Council, which represents Jewish organisations in the UK, said it was “horrified” by the incident, while the Holocaust Educational Trust said the attempted attack was part of “a broader pattern of rising antisemitism, which must be confronted with urgency.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the King of Britain had agreed to become patron of an organization dedicated to protecting Jews.

Read also