A boy has been charged in connection with the arson attack on Kenton United Synagogue at the weekend, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.
The boy – a 17-year-old British national from Brent – has been charged with “arson not endangering life” as part of the Counter Terrorism Policing London investigation into the attack.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on today.
The charge comes after a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested at separate addresses in the north-west London area on Sunday night.
Both were arrested on suspicion of arson reckless as to whether life was endangered and were taken to a London police station. The man has been bailed pending further enquiries, the Met said.
A bottle containing accelerant was thrown through windows of the shul on Shaftesbury Avenue, in Harrow, at around 11.55pm on Saturday night, causing minor smoke damage but no injuries or significant damage to the building. Approximately five minutes later, police officers conducting security checks at local synagogues came across the crime scene and alerted the London Fire Brigade.
The Kenton case marks the latest in a string of attacks over the past week alone against the Jewish community. It follows the attempted arson attack on Finchley Reform Synagogue last Tuesday and a separate attack on the former site of charity Jewish Futures in Hendon on Friday.
Police, fire crews and members of CST all attended the scene and the synagogue was blocked off.
The Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya – The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand – has claimed responsibility for the attack on Kenton shul in a post on social media, though this has not been verified.
Bob Blackman, the Conservative MP for Harrow East, where Kenton synagogue is located, described the incident as “another attempt at intimidating the Jewish population”.
He said: “It is another outrageous attack on the Jewish community."
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.”
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