Attempted arson at London synagogue is 3rd attack on Jewish site in days

Updated on: April 19, 2026 / 9:00 AM EDT / CBS/AFP Add CBS News on Google An arson attack caused smoke damage at a synagogue in North London overnight, just one day after a similar incident in the city and the third such occurence this week, British officials said Sunday. The fire caused minor smoke damage to a room at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, London, according to the Community Security Trust, which provids safety advice to Jewish groups. No injuries were reported. The Metropolitan Police said its officers noticed damage to the window of the building on Saturday night. Photos from Sunday morning show forensic officers and other law enforcement inspecting the cordoned-off scen. "On further inspection they saw smoke inside a room and evidence that a bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window," the department said in a statement. A police forensic officer works inside a cordon at Kenton United Synagogue in London on April 19, 2026. JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images British chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote on social media that the recent attacks show that a "sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community in the UK is gathering momentum." "Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society," Mirvis wrote. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" by the recent attcks. "This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain," Starmer said in a post on X. "We will not rest in the pursuit of perpetrators."Counterterrorism police investigate spate of attacks Counterterrorism officers from London's Metropolitan Police are investigating multiple arson or attempted arson attacks against Jewish properties in Britain's capital in the past month. Officers have stepped up patrols in areas with large Jewish populations. Late Friday, a building that formerly housed a Jewish charity was targeted in Hendon, a neighborhood in north London near Harrow. There were no injuries reported. A police officer stands by a cordon to an area as they investigate the scene of an attempted arson attack in the Hendon area of London, England. Alishia Abodunde / Getty Images On Wednesday, police arrested two people over an arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley. In late March, four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green, also in north London. A little-known group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, with links to Iran, has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, according to SITE Intelligence Group. The group previously claimed similar attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands. The Community Security Trust has recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom in 2025, the second-highest total ever reported to the organization. In: Arson Antisemitism United Kingdom London