Police in Barnet have stepped up patrols to respond to concerns there will be a surge in antisemitic attacks following Israel’s actions in the Gaza flotilla incident.

Meetings have been held between the Community Security Trust (CST) and police to increase awareness.

CST reported 288 antisemitic incidents in January last year, following Operation Cast Lead.

A police spokesman said: “As a reassurance to members of the Jewish community we have been liaising closely with the CST to see if there has been any increase in antisemitic crime, and act on it .

“We’ve asked Safer Neighbourhood Teams to make contact with synagogues and increase patrols around synagogues.”

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, said: “Research indicates that there tends often to be a very worrying rise in antisemitic incidents and attacks, if Israel is attracting controversial coverage in the news. That means extra vigilance from the police if needed at this difficult time.”