Firefighters and police responded to an incident at a Jewish place of worship in Harrow where an attempt was made to set the premises on fire, marking the third such offence against Jewish facilities in under a week.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police discovered window damage at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow at approximately midnight on Sunday.
A vessel containing flammable liquid had been hurled through the glass, and firefighters observed smoke within the building. No individuals were hurt and the structure suffered primarily superficial harm.
A wide restricted zone was established around the location, and detectives were examining a dark-coloured sport utility vehicle in the vicinity the following morning.
Emergency service vehicles, a crime scene investigator, canines trained in fire investigation, and officers in plain clothes were all present at the location.
The morning prayer service was relocated to an alternative venue yet still drew a considerable congregation, according to Saul Taylor, who leads the charitable trust managing the synagogue.
The officers who came upon the damage had been conducting preventive patrols throughout the area following earlier hate crimes directed at Jewish people earlier in the week.
On the preceding Friday, a commercial premises formerly associated with Jewish Futures in Hendon sustained slight damage after an individual was observed approaching the retail area carrying a plastic bag subsequently discovered to hold three bottles of liquid.
He positioned the bag beside a shop before igniting its contents and departing when the flames did not spread as anticipated, investigators stated.
Finchley Reform Synagogue on Fallow Court Avenue suffered a similar offence the preceding Wednesday, when containers, including one believed to hold petrol, were discovered positioned near the building’s boundary.
These recent offences follow an occurrence in late March when four emergency response vehicles belonging to the Jewish community were set ablaze in Golders Green during the night.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis labelled the Kenton United Synagogue offence as cowardly, noting that an ongoing campaign to intimidate and injure British Jewish people is intensifying.
In a statement on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, he detailed how this offence followed incidents at the Finchley congregation on Wednesday and a failed attempt on the former Jewish Futures premises in Hendon on Friday evening, meaning three Jewish establishments in London were struck within a week.
He emphasized that this persistent assault on the community’s capacity to observe their faith and exist without fear represents an assault on the principles uniting all citizens.
While expressing gratitude that no fatalities occurred, he stressed that the nation must recognise how perilous this period is for everyone before tragedy strikes.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer voiced his horror at the sequence of offences affecting north London’s Jewish population.
In a statement on the same platform, he labelled these acts disgusting and declared they would not be accepted.
He stated that assaults on Jewish people constitute assaults on the nation itself.
He noted that visible policing would be boosted and those responsible would be identified and prosecuted.
He concluded by stating that authorities would persist endlessly in their efforts to pursue those responsible.