Authorities are looking into an act of anti-Semitic hate after four ambulances linked to a Jewish volunteer group were set ablaze outside a synagogue in Britain.
Disturbing footage captured three masked individuals igniting a fire near a vehicle belonging to Hatzolah, a Jewish emergency medical service, in Golders Green, London, early Monday morning.
Noises resembling explosions echoed through the area, which hosts one of London’s largest Jewish populations. A police spokesperson mentioned that these sounds were likely due to gas canisters inside the ambulances.
Witness Jenny Rodin described the scene near the Machazike Hadas Orthodox synagogue, stating that the ambulances “just kept going up and up.”
Max Reisner was present just as one ambulance exploded, and shared, “It felt like it was going through my guts.” He added that it was a terrifying sight to see an ambulance in flames, noting that the community remains shocked and shaken.
After the fire was put out, the remnants were merely the charred shells of the ambulances.
Shloimi Richman, the chairman of Hatzolah Northwest, reported that four out of the group’s six ambulances were “deliberately targeted.”
Authorities are on the lookout for the offenders, while Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called the incident a “particularly disgusting attack.”
He further stated, “Our Hatzolah Volunteer Ambulance Squad is an extraordinary service whose sole mission is to protect the lives of Jews and non-Jews alike.”
Hatzolah Northwest is made up of 61 volunteer doctors and paramedics who provide free emergency services within a four-mile radius.
The Jewish community’s safety concerns have escalated since the devastating Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 254 individuals.
This arson incident occurred just five months after a terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue during Yom Kippur, where two lives were lost.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke out on Monday, labeling the event as “an extremely shocking case of anti-Semitic arson,” and condemned the overnight attack. He expressed his thoughts for the Jewish community, emphasizing that anti-Semitism has no place in society.
