Senior figures from across politics have condemned the government’s failure to tackle the root causes of antisemitism as the Jewish community was rocked by a series of arson attacks last week.
Writing for the JC about the firebombing of two synagogues and a Jewish charity last weekend, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage described the situation as a “national disgrace”.
“This is not leadership. It is failure. No real attempt to address the root causes: the incitement, the religious indoctrination in mosques, the unrelenting bias against Israel in the media, and the continued tolerance of discrimination against Jewish and Israeli events, businesses, and institutions across the UK,” he wrote.
Echoing those remarks during a Commons discussion about the attacks on Monday, the shadow policing minister, Conservative MP Matt Vickers, said: “Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, an Islamist militant group with links to Iran – indeed, many would say it is a proxy for Iran – has claimed responsibility for five incidents targeting Jewish sites in London.
“Of course, antisemitism often goes hand in hand with Islamist extremism… This should be considered a national emergency.
“Warm words are no longer enough. Real action is needed.”
It came as police said on Tuesday they had made eight new arrests in connection with the series of antisemitic attacks.
Since the attack on the Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on March 23, counter-terror officers had – at the time of going to press – arrested a total of 23 people, including the eight arrested this week.
In Monday’s parliamentary debate about the attacks, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central Gareth Snell said: “Too many aspects of antisemitism are being normalised in this country. That does not start with attacks on places of worship or on clearly Jewish buildings; it starts with the words and actions of individuals who seek to demonise Jewish people in day-to-day language.
“It starts with the deputy leader of the Green Party publishing a list of British Jews and calling them part of the Israeli lobby, or putting out a list of British-Jewish donors and saying they are part of the Israeli lobby.
“What action is being taken across government, not to deal with the instances after the event, but to tackle the root cause – that scourge of virulent racism – that is being normalised by too many people who ought to know better?”
Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, also underscored the “coincidence” between the anti-Israel demonstrations, antisemitism in public discourse and the arson attacks.
He said: “No one can say for sure that any particular protest or march or expression of antisemitism in the public sphere has led to a particular attack but there is obviously a coincidence now between an extraordinary amount of antisemitism in the public domain and those really, really grievous attacks.
“I think that hatred in the public sphere towards Jews has made them more acceptable as a target for terrorism.”
Speaking in the same Commons debate on Monday, David Taylor, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: “This is not a series of isolated crimes; this is a pattern of frequent and repeated targeting of Jewish sites and communities across London, designed to intimidate and make people feel unsafe in their daily lives.
“If foreign-linked actors like Iran are using individuals in the UK to carry out attacks on Jewish sites, that is not just a policing matter; it is, of course, a national security issue.
“I again raise the urgent need for financial sanctions on Iran’s Press TV, where Palestine Declassified broadcasts information about Jewish charities, and its antisemitic presenters have suggested on Twitter that direct action against Jewish community institutions is appropriate.”
Kenton United Synagogue in north-west London was targeted in an arson attack late on Saturday night. The incident left minor smoke damage but no injuries or significant damage to the building, according to the Community Security Trust (CST).
It followed another arson attack on the former site of charity Jewish Futures in Hendon on April 17, and a further attempt to firebomb Finchley Reform Synagogue on April 14.
On Tuesday a 17-year-old British national from Brent was charged with “arson not endangering life” over the attack on Kenton shul. He was due to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on Tuesday.
A bottle containing accelerant was thrown through windows of the shul on Shaftesbury Avenue, in Harrow, at around 11.55pm on Saturday night.
The Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya – “Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand”, thought to be linked to Iran – claimed responsibility for the attack on Kenton shul in a post on social media, though this was not verified.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has described the spate of attacks on Jewish sites as “a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community”.
United Synagogue (US) president Saul Taylor said: “We are yet again deeply saddened by the arson attacks that have taken place... including the attack on Kenton United Synagogue, one of our own communities.
“A synagogue is not just a building, it is a place of worship, community and – theoretically – safety. To target it in this way is a deeply disturbing act that strikes at the heart of Jewish life.”
The incidents follow the arson attack on Hazola ambulances in Golders Green, which was also claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya.
The Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats have all supported an IRGC ban.
Former Tory security minister, Tom Tugendhat, has repeatedly called for proscription, saying that his party should have gone ahead with the ban when it was in government.
Responding last month, Starmer said: “He knows we have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety... The existing proscription powers are not designed for a state organisation but we do keep this under review, as did the last government.”
In their meeting with the foreign secretary, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies called for robust action over the threat from Iran. They reiterated that Iranian groups have been “directly involved in targeting Jewish locations in the UK” and asked Yvette Cooper to urgently ban the IRGC.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons debate that he visited Finchley Reform Synagogue on Monday. He said: “I met community leaders and saw at first hand the strengthened police presence and the resilience of those affected, and I reaffirmed our commitment to protect all those who have been targeted.
“The government’s commitment to supporting British Jews is an enduring one. We are taking firm steps to root out antisemitism wherever it appears across public life – from our public services to our universities, our charities and beyond. We are backing up our words with action.
“This includes launching an urgent review of antisemitism in the NHS, introducing mandatory training, and investing £7 million to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. This is a whole of society effort, grounded in close engagement with Jewish communities.
“An amendment to existing powers will allow the police to deal with repeat protests by taking into account the cumulative effect of protest activity, and the Home Secretary has asked Lord Macdonald to undertake a review of public order laws to ensure people can go about their lives without fear of intimidation.
Referring to “speculation” linking the attacks to Iran, he added: “Let me be absolutely clear: whether linked to Iran or to any other source, we will never tolerate hostile activity on British soil.”
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