UK police investigate Jewish charity ambulance arson as hate crime

Four ambulances owned by Hatzola Northwest were torched in what PM Keir Starmer described as ‘deeply shocking’.Ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity in north London were set ablaze overnight, in what British police are investigating as an anti-Semitic hate crime.Officers were called to Golders Green, a London neighbourhood with a large Jewish population, early on Monday morning after receiving reports of a fire, the Metropolitan Police said.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Antisemite of the Year’: Pro-Israel group slams kids’ YouTuber Ms. Rachellist 2 of 3World reacts to Jewish festival shooting attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beachlist 3 of 3Families of Bondi victims demand probe into anti-Semitism in Australiaend of listNo one was injured in the attack, which shattered the windows of nearby homes.Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer organisation that provides emergency medical response, were damaged, according to the London-fire-brigade" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="21995" data-entity-type="organization">London Fire Brigade.Multiple gas cylinders on the vehicles exploded, causing windows to break in an adjacent apartment block. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.Firefighters in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, UK [AFP]United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as deeply shocking.“My thoughts are ‌with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news,” he said on X. “Antisemitism has no place in our society.”The cause of the fire is being investigated, authorities said. Police said they were looking for three suspects, but no arrests had been made.“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern, and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries,” Police Superintendent Sarah Jackson said.Peter Zinkin, who represents Golders Green on the local council, said he felt “shock and horror as you would expect, but the second response is a deep and overwhelming sadness that this has happened”.