Four Jewish Ambulances Destroyed in London Antisemitic Arson Attack

Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service, were destroyed in an arson attack in the Golders Green district of north London in the early hours of Monday, March 23, 2026, with police treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime. Officers were alerted by firefighters at around 1:45 a.m., and the blaze was extinguished by approximately 3:00 a.m. after 40 (firefighters) — deployed across six vehicles to tackle the blaze were deployed across six fire vehicles. Gas cylinders inside the ambulances exploded during the fire, shattering windows in a neighboring apartment building and prompting precautionary evacuations of nearby residents. No injuries were reported. Surveillance footage reviewed by police showed three hooded individuals entering the parking lot adjacent to a synagogue, setting an ambulance alight, and fleeing the scene. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attack as "deeply shocking antisemitic" and called on witnesses to contact police. Photos released by British media showed three vehicles completely burned out and a fourth damaged in the small parking lot.

Counter-terrorism unit takes over, claim unverified The Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism unit assumed control of the investigation on Monday, even though the incident has not been formally classified as a terrorist act. Chief Superintendent Luke Williams confirmed that investigators were searching for three suspects and that the case was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. A pro-Iranian group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya published a video on a newly created Telegram channel claiming responsibility for the attack, but police said the authenticity of the claim had not been confirmed. „Verifying the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the team of investigators, but we are not in a position to confirm it for the moment” — Luke Williams via Courrier international The group has also claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands, according to multiple reports. Investigator Sarah Jackson said officers were evaluating CCTV footage and were aware of videos circulating online. „We are examining CCTV footage and are aware of videos circulating online. At this preliminary stage, we believe we are looking for three suspects” — Sarah Jackson via France 24 Additional police patrols were deployed in the Golders Green area following the attack.

Community leaders condemn attack on life-saving service Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, speaking at the scene, described the fire as a "particularly vile attack — not only on the Jewish community, but on the values we share as a society," and said it was the latest in a series of antisemitic criminal incidents across the world. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the incident "a cowardly attack on the Jewish community" and said he was in close contact with police. Dean Cohen, councillor for the Golders Green ward, said the location of the attack in the parking lot of a synagogue was "particularly chilling" and would send a shockwave through the community. Local Jewish residents interviewed by AFP on Monday morning said they were not entirely surprised by the targeting of their community, though the choice of ambulances as a target shocked many. „I am not surprised that the Jewish community was targeted, it is recurrent, what surprises me, however, is that they targeted ambulances” — Adam Waters via AFP Yael Gluck, a 42-year-old resident, said the community was "terrified" and that antisemitism had "become too widespread." The volunteer charity Shomrim North West London condemned the fire as "a targeted and deeply troubling act affecting a vital emergency service serving the local Jewish community."

Attack follows record year for antisemitism in the UK Golders Green, located in the London Borough of Barnet in northwest London, has a large and established Jewish community. The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic acts in the United Kingdom in 2025, the second-highest annual total in the organization's history. On October 2, 2025, during the Yom Kippur holiday, an attacker killed two people and seriously injured three others in an assault outside a synagogue in Manchester, described as the worst attack against the Jewish community in Europe since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Two men were subsequently sentenced to life in prison for that attack. The Golders Green arson follows a pattern of rising antisemitic incidents across Britain and Europe that authorities and community organizations have tracked with growing alarm. 3700 (antisemitic acts) — recorded in the UK in 2025, second-highest total ever Hatzola, which was founded in the 1960s in Brooklyn, New York, to serve Yiddish-speaking Hasidic communities, operates as a nonprofit in collaboration with the British health system, providing free emergency medical assistance. The destruction of four of its vehicles represents a direct blow to emergency capacity in a densely populated Jewish neighborhood. Starmer urged the public to stand together, saying it was "really important that we all stand together at a moment like this."