LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the torching of four ambulances operated by a Jewish charity overnight was a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.”
The ambulances were set alight overnight in north London, police said in a statement, inflicting serious damage but causing no injuries. Police said they were investigating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime and had stepped up local patrols to reassure residents.
Photographs of the scene showed the charred remains of at least three of the vehicles, which had been parked in a private lot beside a synagogue. The ambulances were operated by Hatzola, a Jewish charitable organization that provides emergency medical response and transportation services to the community.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said targeting the charity represented an attack on “the values we share as a society.”
“At a time when Jewish communities around the world are facing a growing pattern of these violent attacks, we will meet this moment with shared resolve and stand together against hatred and intimidation,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
The BBC shared CCTV footage appearing to show three individuals approaching a parked ambulance before setting it alight. The Washington Post could not independently verify the footage.
“We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage,” said local police superintendent Sarah Jackson.
The attack took place in Golders Green, a suburban north London neighborhood with a large Jewish community.
Sarah Sackman, the constituency’s Labour lawmaker, who also serves as a justice minister in Starmer’s government, said in an emailed statement: “This is a cowardly and despicable act striking at the heart of the local Jewish community before Passover.”
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