Met Police launches 100-officer team to protect London Jews

London’s Jewish community is getting 100 extra Metropolitan Police officers after a wave of arson attacks, threats and a stabbing that left two men wounded in Golders Green. The new Community Protection Team brings together neighbourhood policing, specialist protection and counterterrorism expertise, and the force says it is meant to be more visible, intelligence-led and coordinated.

The announcement lands after a string of attacks that have shaken Jewish life across northwest London and beyond. Police are treating the stabbing of two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, as terrorism. Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article. Officers also reported a suspected arson attack at a former synagogue in Whitechapel, the March 23 firebombing of four volunteer-led Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, and an April 15 attempted arson attack at Finchley Reform Synagogue.

The scale of the response reflects both the violence of the incidents and the political pressure building around them. The government has described antisemitism in the U.K. as an “emergency” and pledged £25 million, about $34 million, for security around synagogues, schools and community centres. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Britain’s Jews feel a very deep sense of anxiety about security and identity, and that protecting them is “our fight” as well. Golders Green, one of the main centres of Jewish life in northwest London, has become a symbol of the threat.

The Met says it has arrested around 50 people for antisemitic hate crimes in the last month, with eight charged, plus 28 arrests linked to arsons and other serious offences investigated with Counter Terrorism Policing. Among the latest arrests, a 35-year-old man was detained after rocks were thrown at a Jewish community ambulance in Edgware, and a 57-year-old man was arrested after allegedly threatening a Jewish man with racially offensive language. All those arrested were released on bail pending further investigation.

The big question is whether 100 officers is a substantive shift or a visible reassurance measure after repeated attacks. Sir Mark Rowley had already said London needed 300 extra officers to confront a growing “pandemic” of antisemitism, a warning that suggests the new team may be only part of the answer. The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022, underscoring the pressure on a Jewish population of about 300,000. For families, schools and congregations in Golders Green, Brent, Finchley, Wembley, Croydon and southeast London, the test will be whether the new team can deliver sustained protection, not just a faster headline.