The explosions that shattered windows and woke the neighborhood at 1:40 in the morning came from oxygen canisters, not bombs. But the intent was unmistakable.

Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a volunteer-run Jewish emergency service, were torched in a Golders Green car park next to the Mchzike Hadath synagogue. CCTV footage shows three figures in hoods pouring accelerant onto the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing. Thirty-four residents were evacuated from nearby homes. No one was injured.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it what it was: “a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.”

A War Six Thousand Kilometers Away

Golders Green has one of London’s largest Jewish populations. Hatzola has operated there since 1979, providing free emergency medical response to anyone who needs it — Jewish or not. The organization’s entire purpose, as Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis noted, is “to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.”

Which makes the target choice telling. The attackers did not strike a government building, a corporate office, or even a religious institution in the narrow sense. They struck an ambulance service whose sole function is saving lives.

Laurence Blitz, a Hatzola representative, called it “shocking for any normal-minded person to attack an organisation whose sole purpose is to save lives.”

The Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in Britain, logged 3,700 anti-Jewish incidents in 2025 — more than double the 1,662 recorded in 2022. The spike correlates with the Gaza war that began in October 2023. The trust noted the attack’s “obvious comparison to similar antisemitic attacks recently in Belgium and the Netherlands,” where synagogues and a Jewish school were targeted earlier this month.

An Unfamiliar Name

A previously obscure group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya — The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand — has claimed responsibility for the London attack, as well as the earlier incidents in Belgium and the Netherlands, according to the SITE monitoring service. The group’s Telegram channel was recently created. Its authenticity remains unverified.

Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation, though the incident has not yet been formally declared a terrorist attack. Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said establishing the veracity of the online claim is “a priority for the investigation team.” No arrests have been made.

What Comes Next

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the government will fund four replacement ambulances, promising they would be in place by Tuesday morning. “The Jewish community should not be left footing the bill for this despicable attack,” he said.

The Metropolitan Police have increased patrols around Jewish community sites, particularly relevant with Passover approaching in early April. Starmer has been in contact with Jewish community leaders.

But the damage done extends beyond four burned vehicles. Councillor Shimon Ryde, speaking from the shelter where evacuated residents gathered, captured the mood: “It’s very shocking, it’s not unexpected… the Jewish community is very aware of the danger we live in.”

The Israeli embassy’s response was blunter: “Antisemitism is rife on the streets of London. Enough is enough.”

A foreign war has once again produced domestic casualties — not through missiles or cross-border raids, but through hate traveled six thousand kilometers to a car park in north London.

Sources