Police arrest two over attempted arson at Finchley Reform Synagogue

Alarm spread through north London Jewish communities after two suspects in dark clothing and balaclavas approached Finchley Reform Synagogue in Fallow Court Avenue shortly after midnight and threw two bottles suspected to contain petrol, along with a brick, at the building. Police later arrested a 46-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman on suspicion of arson and said they were treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.

Neither bottle ignited and no damage was reported, but the synagogue said the attack was plainly designed to frighten people beyond the building itself. Finchley Reform leaders said no one was injured and regular activities and events were continuing, underscoring how quickly an act aimed at property can become a wider public-safety threat when it targets a place that serves as both house of worship and community hub.

Cantor Zöe Jacobs, the synagogue’s senior clergy, said Finchley Reform was a proud, progressive and welcoming space for all, and that the community would not be deterred. The synagogue said it hosts Jewish services and celebrations, a nursery, a homeless shelter and a safe place for refugees to gather, making the attempted firebombing not only an antisemitic attack but also a strike at a shared civic space used by vulnerable residents.

Police linked the significance of the incident to the arson attack in Golders Green last month, when four ambulances from Hatzola, the volunteer-led Jewish emergency service, were set on fire and 34 residents were evacuated from nearby homes. The comparison has sharpened concern across Barnet about the risk of escalation, especially where attacks appear intended to send a message of intimidation to Jewish institutions and the people who rely on them.

Barnet Council chief executive Cath Shaw described the Finchley attack as a reprehensible antisemitic attack and a cowardly act aimed at intimidating the community. Sarah Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said she went to the synagogue to support residents and community leaders after being informed of the incident. The arrests may move the case forward, but the deeper challenge remains clear: protecting synagogues, emergency services and community spaces from hate-fuelled attacks that can unsettle an entire neighborhood.