UK Police Create Special Unit to Protect Jews

London’s Metropolitan Police announced Wednesday that it is establishing a new unit to protect Jewish communities following a series of antisemitic attacks, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green last week.

The new “community protection team” will begin with 100 additional officers and combine neighborhood policing with “specialist protection and counterterrorism capabilities,” according to the Met. Police said the unit will provide a more visible and coordinated presence in areas with significant Jewish populations and will be guided by intelligence assessments.

The announcement comes amid heightened concern over antisemitic violence in London, including several recent attacks targeting Jewish institutions and community services. Police said Tuesday they were investigating an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London. In March, an arson attack in Golders Green destroyed four ambulances operated by Hatzola, a Jewish emergency medical charity. Bottles suspected of containing gasoline have also been thrown at two synagogues in separate incidents.

Last week, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, a north London neighborhood with a large Jewish community. Police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the terror attack.

The Met said it has arrested more than 80 people in the past four weeks in connection with antisemitic hate crimes and a series of arson attacks. Some of the incidents are being examined for possible links to Iran amid the ongoing war with Iran.

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley said last week that he had been discussing a 300-officer neighborhood policing team for Jewish communities with ministers and officials, including specialist armed officers. He described the current threat facing British Jews as the most serious the community has ever faced.

Rowley said Wednesday that the new team was “an important step” in strengthening the police response to sustained threats against Jewish communities. He said the unit would bring together local officers familiar with their neighborhoods and specialist capabilities meant to provide consistent, visible and intelligence-led protection.

The force said the unit will initially focus primarily on protecting Jewish communities, but could also serve as a model for responding to rising tensions affecting other groups in London.

Police emphasized that the new focus does not mean other communities will receive less attention. The Met said hate crime in all forms, including racism, anti-Muslim hate crime, homophobia and other forms of hatred, remains a core priority.

The announcement came as Stephen Parkinson, the chief prosecutor for England and Wales, said hate crime prosecutions would be fast-tracked following what he described as a deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents.