Four Hatzola ambulances set on fire in Golders Green. Anti-terrorist police have taken over the investigation. Anti-Semitic attack?
Three individuals set fire to four ambulances parked near the Machzike Hadath Synagogue. The cylinders on the vehicles exploded. The windows of a nearby block of flats were broken. In the morning, instead of ambulances leaving to rescue people, only charred bodies remained.
Who are the people from Hatzola?
The ambulances belonged to the Hatzola organization, an all-volunteer, not-for-profit emergency medical service that serves the local community regardless of religion. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe in, if you need help, Hatzola is coming. Or it was, until someone decided that the ambulances of some Jewish volunteers were worth burning. The site in north-west London remains operational, Shomrim, the community watchdog in the area, has confirmed, and the Health Minister has announced that the government will fund the replacement of the destroyed vehicles.
Three suspects on camera, no arrests
The Metropolitan Police have CCTV footage. On them, three people can be seen setting fire to one of the ambulances. The investigation was taken over by anti-terrorist police, although the incident was not officially declared an act of terrorism. No one has been arrested so far. Additional patrols have been sent to the area and police are speaking with religious leaders in the community.
“When you attack ambulances, you attack what is decent in this country”
Damon Hoff, president of the synagogue where the ambulances were parked, put it simply: “When you attack a place of worship and attack ambulances, you strike at the heart of what is decent in this country.” He acknowledged that people in the community are scared, that they feel vulnerable, but that they are not going to be intimidated.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called the attack “particularly disgusting.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been in touch with community leaders since Monday morning, delivered a short and firm message: “Anti-Semitism has no place in our society.”
The political class reacts
This time, reactions came from across the political spectrum. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked bluntly: “What kind of person targets a volunteer-run ambulance service?” And he warned that hatred of Jews was on the rise in Britain. Laila Cunningham, the Reform candidate for London mayor, took the message further: “If we don’t protect every community, our streets will belong to extremists.”
This is not an isolated incident
This is not just an isolated incident. According to the Community Security Trust, the organization that monitors the safety of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, the number of anti-Semitic incidents reached 3,700 in 2025. In 2022 there were 1,662. The ambulances in Golders Green are just the latest chapter in a story that has been in the making for far too long.
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