London’s Metropolitan Police announced the creation of a special unit to protect Jews following a spate of hate attacks amid growing antisemitism.
The Met said the new community protection team will initially comprise 100 extra officers and combine neighbourhood policing with specialist protection and counter-terrorism capabilities. It will provide a more visible, intelligence‑led and coordinated presence focused on protecting London’s Jewish communities, the force said in a statement.
The announcement came the day after police said they were probing the latest arson incident targeting Jews, this time involving a former synagogue in east London.
It also followed last week’s stabbing of two Jewish men in the Golders Green area of north London, which is home to a large Jewish community.
In March, an arson attack in the same neighbourhood destroyed four ambulances run by the Hatzola Jewish charity, while bottles suspected of containing petrol have been thrown at two synagogues in other separate incidents.
Met Commissioner Mark Rowley revealed last week he had been discussing with ministers and officials about creating a 300-strong neighbourhood policing team, including specialist armed officers, for the Jewish community. On May 6th he said about the unit
It brings together experienced local officers who know their communities, supported by specialist capabilities, to provide more visible, consistent and intelligence‑led protection.
The United Kingdom appears to have a growing antisemitism problem. Incidents motivated by anti-Jew hatred have plagued schools and music festivals, and targeted synagogues. As we pointed out earlier, governing Labour seems to have an internal antisemitism crisis, with Reform UK pointing out that the government needs to take more forceful action to stop the disturbing trend in Britain. And policing alone will not be sufficient.
