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The torching of four ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer service Hatzola, carried out in the early hours outside the Machzike Hadath Synagogue in Golders Green, north London, represents yet another grim chapter in the escalating war against Jewish life in Europe.
Surveillance footage shared on social media appears to show several hooded or masked men pouring gasoline on the vehicles before fleeing the scenes. An aerial view captures fire services continuing to monitor the scene after the attack on March 23, 2026.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as "a deeply shocking anti-Semitic arson attack." Hatzola, a not-for-profit volunteer organization that responds to medical emergencies, provides essential life-saving services to the community, free of charge.
The London Fire Brigade dispatched six engines and forty firefighters to the blaze, where multiple cylinders on the vehicles exploded, shattering windows in a nearby apartment block. Mercifully, no injuries were reported.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. A newly emerged Shiite terror group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin, known in English as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right, claimed responsibility via its Telegram channel for the assault outside the synagogue.
This group has surfaced only in recent weeks, linking itself to a string of attacks on Jewish targets across Europe, including an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, a blast at a Jewish school in Amsterdam, and arson at a synagogue in Rotterdam. It is widely believed to be connected to Iranian-backed Shia Islamist factions operating under the banner of the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
A video released by Ashab al-Yamin appears to depict its members conducting reconnaissance on the Hatzola ambulances prior to the arson. Handheld footage suggests the perpetrators lingered near the scene to observe the flames. Yet the text overlaid in the video reveals the true intent: "The Machzike Hadath Synagogue is one of the most important centers of Orthodox Judaism [...] and one of the main bastions of support for Israel in Britain."
Superintendent Sarah Jackson of the Metropolitan Police stated, "We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage," adding that no arrests have yet been made, but three suspects are believed to have been involved.
Starmer, posting on X, declared, "My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news. Anti-Semitism has no place in our society.
"The Israeli embassy in Britain pointed to the rampant antisemitism in London and condemned the firebombing of ambulances as the bitter fruit of years of tolerated hatred. "Enough is enough," the embassy posted on X. "There must be a thorough investigation and decisive action to put an end to this climate of intimidation before it spirals further. Silence and inaction are no longer an option."
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which provides security advice to Britain's estimated 290,000 Jews, observed that the fires bore "an obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liège, Rotterdam and Amsterdam."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan perfunctorily condemned the attack and announced increased police patrols in the area.
Hatzola Northwest, a registered UK charity based in Golders Green, describes itself on its website as offering "a 24/7 community service, operating 365 days a year to provide a swift response to medical emergencies in a 2.5-mile radius" from its headquarters. "The service is provided free of charge by our 61 fully qualified medics and paramedic volunteer responders, all of whom have undergone and continue to receive intensive training. They are equipped with comprehensive Basic Life Support kits, including resuscitation equipment, oxygen, and defibrillators and are ready to drop everything to respond to a medical emergency.
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which provides security advice to Britain's estimated 290,000 Jews, observed that the fires bore "an obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liège, Rotterdam and Amsterdam."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan perfunctorily condemned the attack and announced increased police patrols in the area.
Hatzola Northwest, a registered UK charity based in Golders Green, describes itself on its website as offering "a 24/7 community service, operating 365 days a year to provide a swift response to medical emergencies in a 2.5-mile radius" from its headquarters. "The service is provided free of charge by our 61 fully qualified medics and paramedic volunteer responders, all of whom have undergone and continue to receive intensive training. They are equipped with comprehensive Basic Life Support kits, including resuscitation equipment, oxygen, and defibrillators and are ready to drop everything to respond to a medical emergency.
Hatzola Northwest presently has a fleet of five active ambulances and 3 Fast response Units, which are used for responding when needed, including urgent patient transport as required."
What we witness here is a calculated assault on the infrastructure of communal care, chosen precisely because it serves the vulnerable and stands as a quiet emblem of Jewish resilience in the heart of Britain. The perpetrators, shielded by masks and the anonymity of the night, have struck at something far more than vehicles: they have aimed at the very sense of security that Jewish communities have fought so hard to maintain.
What we witness here is a calculated assault on the infrastructure of communal care, chosen precisely because it serves the vulnerable and stands as a quiet emblem of Jewish resilience in the heart of Britain. The perpetrators, shielded by masks and the anonymity of the night, have struck at something far more than vehicles: they have aimed at the very sense of security that Jewish communities have fought so hard to maintain.
The question now is whether the authorities in Britain will finally treat such acts with the gravity they demand, or whether this too will be absorbed into the weary pattern of condemnation without consequence.
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