Security minister Dan Jarvis has said he would “move heaven and earth” to make sure the community is properly supported following the spate of attacks against Jewish community sites.
Speaking at Finchley Reform Synagogue on Monday, which was subject last week to an attempted arson attack, Jarvis said the government was working closely with police on the investigation.
He added: "The attacks that we’ve seen in recent times are completely abhorrent and unacceptable, and we will move heaven and earth to make sure that people feel properly supported."
Joining Jarvis on the visit to the shul was Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Matt Jukes, who called for social media platforms to do more to prevent antisemitic posts being shared online.
Speaking to the Press Association, Jukes said some young people had been drawn into online conversations “imagining there is quick or easy money to make”.
Investigators are working to establish whether Iran has paid people to carry out acts on UK soil, after a series of incidents including an arson attack on four Jewish Hatzolah ambulances and attempted arson attacks at synagogues in north London.
“We have made 15 arrests in the last weeks in relation to the six events that we’ve seen,” Jukes said.
“There is quite an age range there, a range of backgrounds, but we do know that, in some cases, young people have been drawn into online conversations, imagining there is quick or easy money to make.
“We will continue to work hard on the online space. It is a job for the wider security, intelligence services and counter-terrorism policing.
“But it’s also something we think that the platforms could contribute more to, because there is online sharing and promulgation of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“You can see those even this week, after instances that have affected synagogues like this one here, people have to look at antisemitic posts about conspiracy theories, and claims that it’s a false flag operation by Mossad.
“That kind of content is helping create an environment that some have described as ambient antisemitism, but it’s actually very visible antisemitism, and I believe we would ask that platforms play their part in addressing that.”
Another incident saw a drone flown near the Israeli embassy in London, and a petrol bomb was thrown towards the site of Volant Media, the parent company of Persian news channel Iran International.
A group that calls itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, that is suspected to be Iran-backed, has claimed responsibility for most of the incidents, along with other attacks in Europe, since March 9.
Jukes added: “There is a concerted campaign across Europe, and a challenge we face in terms of addressing those, and I’m not going to speak to the specifics of these cases, but we do know we’ve seen people who are basically thugs for hiring.
“It’s a challenging policing task for us to identify individuals who might take a small sum of money and then carry out acts on behalf of others.
“But what we can say is, we have identified those people in other cases, and some of them are facing really long prison sentences.”
When asked about the prospect of people being paid to commit these crimes, Jarvis said: “My message to them is very simple. They should not do that.
“That is clearly very serious criminal activity that comes in scope of the National Security Act.”
Also present at Monday’s meeting at Finchley Reform Synagogue was deputy mayor for policing and crime for London Kaya Comer-Schwartz who said rising incidents of antisemitism in London reflects a global pattern.
Comer-Schwartz told the Press Association: “We are using all things possible to make sure that we send a clear message that hate of this kind will not be tolerated, and we will use the full force of the law to make sure that justice is seen for the community being affected here.
“It’s really important to recognise that, especially in an area like this, there has been a hell of a lot of partnership work with the council and the local police for a long time.
“However, we know that what is happening globally plays out in our capital city, and sadly, antisemitism and all forms of hate have been on the rise for some time, and that’s why the mayor has invested millions in not only supporting the police, but preventative work, and will continue to do so.”
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