What is Hatzola and who does it treat?

The scene after four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue in Golders Green (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)Getty Images

Hatzola, or Hatzalah – meaning rescue in Hebrew – is a volunteer-led emergency medical charity operating in partnership with the NHS.

Founded to provide rapid, round-the-clock care free of charge, its responders are often first on the scene of medical emergencies, working alongside the NHS ambulance service and arriving within minutes. 

The charity operates volunteer-led ambulance services in other parts of the world, including the US and Israel.

Volunteers respond to calls from anyone in need, regardless of faith or background.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the attacks in north London were a “particularly sickening assault – not only on the Jewish community, but on the values we share as a society”.

Mark Gardner, the Community Security Trust’s chief executive, said the attacks had “obvious comparison” to recent antisemitic attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Gardner was referring to an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, earlier this month, which the city’s mayor called a “violent act of antisemitism”, as well as a similar incident at a Jewish primary school in Amsterdam.

A new, Iran-linked extremist group calling itself Ashab Al Yamin has claimed responsibility for both of those attacks.

The group has since claimed responsibility for the Hatzola arson but, unlike previous cases, it has not released footage of its operatives committing the attack, suggesting it may be claiming “credit” opportunistically.

The ambulances destroyed in Monday’s attack had been parked in the car park of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, which was badly damaged during the blaze.

The attack was captured by the shul’s CCTV cameras, which showed three men, hooded, masked and dressed in black, setting the fire next to one of the vehicles.

Jack Taub, a member of the synagogue’s leadership team, said explosions from gas cannisters in the ambulances blew out stained-glass windows, damaged the roof and caused smoke damage inside the building. He described a community “shocked”, but also determined not to be intimidated.

“I can’t say no one was expecting it. Obviously, tensions have been very high. Security has been elevated by lots of organisations,” he told the BBC.

Damon Hoff, president of the synagogue, said the attack had struck at a service relied upon by the whole community.

“This is a real attack on the Jewish community. Hatzola is a backbone of the community, it’s for everyone that lives here.

"It was set up for the Jewish community but a third of the people that live in our area are not Jewish. I've personally called the Hatzola for non-Jewish people. Hatzola is for everybody - it's an ambulance service."

Hatzola ambulances set on fire in Golders Green (Image: X)[Missing Credit]

Hatzola volunteers use walkie-talkies to coordinate responses and, in keeping with Jewish law, will break the Sabbath when necessary to save life.

Despite the destruction of vehicles, community leaders said the service would continue operating using other ambulances.

A fundraising appeal launched in the wake of the attack has already raised more than £250,000 to be put towards news ambulances.