This week: Four London synagogues firebombed in four weeks. Finchley Reform, a Hendon building hosting a Jewish charity, and Kenton United Synagogue were all attacked between 15 and 19 April. A 17-year-old pleaded guilty to the Kenton arson. Counter-terror police arrested seven more people over a foiled conspiracy to commit a further attack on a Jewish venue. Police are investigating whether Iranian proxies are orchestrating the wave.
A Jewish-owned shop in Watford was set alight on Sunday afternoon. The next day, a visibly Orthodox Jewish man was physically attacked while working as a building inspector in Slough; the assault was caught on camera. A TfL driver was suspended after telling campaigners that Jews are ‘not safe’ on the Bakerloo line while he is driving. A Green Party council candidate in Bournemouth declared Zionists are ‘trying to control the world’ and ‘killed 20 million Christians’; she remains on the ballot.
In Mississauga, antisemitic graffiti covered a Catholic school and community centre. And Boy George, representing San Marino at Eurovision, rejected boycott calls: ‘Turn my back on my Jewish friends? Not going to happen.’