Another Antisemitic Terrorist Arrested in London

British police arrested a 37-year-old man Monday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, as part of an investigation into a wave of attacks on Jewish-linked sites in northwest London.

Counterterrorism police said the arrest was tied to a broader probe into attacks on premises linked to the Jewish community, an attack on a Persian-language media organization, and the discovery of jars containing a non-hazardous substance in Kensington Gardens. The suspect was taken to a London police station for questioning.

The arrest comes after weeks of attacks and attempted attacks on Jewish communal sites in the British capital. Police said 26 people have now been arrested in connection with the investigation. Eight have been charged with arson-related offenses, and one has already been convicted of arson.

The investigation began after an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, the Jewish-led emergency medical charity, near a synagogue in Golders Green. The area is one of London’s most prominent Jewish neighborhoods, because apparently even ambulances are too much civilization for some people.

Finchley Reform Synagogue was later targeted in an attempted arson attack, followed by a separate attack on Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow.

SITE Intelligence Group has reported that a newly founded Islamist group with links to Iran, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, also known as HAYI, has claimed responsibility for many recent attacks across Europe targeting American, Israeli and Jewish sites.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Kenton United Synagogue last week and warned that Britain must confront hostile state actors using proxies inside the country.

“We have to deal with malign state actors, that will require legislation,” Starmer said, adding that he was increasingly concerned that countries were using proxies to carry out attacks in Britain.

The attacks come amid a continued surge in antisemitism in the UK since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel and the war in Gaza that followed.

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents across Britain last year, a four percent increase from 2024, though below the level recorded in 2023.

The most severe antisemitic attack in Britain last year came in October, when a terrorist drove into people outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and stabbed one person to death. Another person was killed after being inadvertently shot by police during the attack.