THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said she is “appalled” by the growing aggression against Jewish communities in the UK, after a series of anti-Semitic attacks in London, including another suspected arson incident, in Harrow, on Saturday night.
“An attack on Jewish people is an attack on us all — we must stand together against the virulence of antisemitism that brings only violence, fear and hatred,” Archbishop Mullally wrote on X. “We must face this challenge together across society and within all our communities. I want to assure the Jewish community of my wholehearted support, solidarity and prayers.”
The Archbishop’s social media post came after bishops in London also expressed their “solidarity” with the Jewish community on Monday, saying that they “condemn unequivocally” the “abhorrent” incidents.
They were joined by the Bishops of Chelmsford, Gloucester, Southwark and Norwich in condemning the current rise of anti-Semitism in Britain this week.
The latest incident, at Kenton United Synagogue, caused smoke damage to an internal room, but there were no injuries or significant structural damage, the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti-Semitism in the UK, reports.
A 17-year-old boy and 19-year-old man had been arrested, the Metropolitan Police said on Monday. The former was charged with arson, police said on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, police said they had made eight further arrests, and that seven of the arrests were over an alleged conspiracy to commit a further arson attack directed at the Jewish community, although the specific target is not yet known.
This came after bottles — one of which was thought to contain petrol — were placed near Finchley Reform Synagogue in Barnet, on Wednesday of last week, and after four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in Golders Green last month (News, 23 March). Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI), an Islamist militant group, was reported to have said that it was behind the attacks.
In its joint statement on Monday, the London College of Bishops — the Acting Bishop of London, Dr Emma Ineson; the Bishop of Edmonton, Dr Anderson Jeremiah; the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Revd Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy; and the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Revd Jonathan Baker — said: “We condemn unequivocally the recent attacks on London’s synagogues, Jewish charities and establishments. These antisemitic acts are abhorrent. Intended to intimidate Jewish communities and to make Londoners fearful in their own places of worship, they are wholly at odds with the values of our city, and our society.”
On Tuesday, the Bishops of Norwich, Chelmsford, Gloucester, and Southwark — all of whom have visited to the Holy Land in recent months — issued a statement. It read: “Whatever our views about specific policies of the current government of Israel, we are called as a Church to witness to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who is the light of the world and who reveals to us the love of God. There can be no overlap between the truth of this witness and the darkness of antisemitism that continues to blight our communities.
“Antisemitism has no place in our world and no place in our Church, and it is incumbent on each of us to combat this growing threat. It is a scourge and a form of evil that must be confronted in all its manifestations.”
The Met report that Counter Terrorism Policing London are leading the investigation into the incident in Hendon, as well as those into other attacks, owing to the “similar circumstances and online claims of responsibility”.
On Monday, the Security Minister, Dan Jarvis, told the Commons: “Attacks on British Jews are an attack on all of us, and we will do whatever it takes to stop the cowards and thugs who seek to intimidate our Jewish communities.”
