An arson attack caused smoke damage at a synagogue in North London overnight, just one dayafter a similar incident in the cityand the third such occurence this week, British officials said Sunday.
The fire caused minor smoke damage to a room at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, London, according to the Community Security Trust, which provids safety advice to Jewish groups. No injuries were reported.
The Metropolitan Police said its officers noticed damage to the window of the building on Saturday night. Photos from Sunday morning show forensic officers and other law enforcement inspecting the cordoned-off scen.
"On further inspection they saw smoke inside a room and evidence that a bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window," the department said in a statement.
British chief rabbi Ephraim Mirviswrote on social mediathat the recent attacks show that a "sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community in the UK is gathering momentum."
"Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society," Mirvis wrote.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" by the recent attcks.
"This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain," Starmer said in a post on X. "We will not rest in the pursuit of perpetrators."
Counterterrorism officers from London's Metropolitan Police are investigating multiple arson or attemptedarson attacksagainst Jewish properties in Britain's capital in the past month. Officers have stepped up patrols in areas with large Jewish populations.
Late Friday, a building that formerly housed a Jewish charity was targeted in Hendon, a neighborhood in north London near Harrow. There were no injuries reported.
Source: Drudge Report
