In February, a Muslim community group announced they were making plans to purchase the old synagogue and turn it into a mosque [GETTY]
A former synagogue in London has been targeted by an arson attack, amid ongoing media coverage of antisemitism which has seen right-wing and pro-Israel politicians call for a ban on pro-Palestine marches.
The East London Central Synagogue, a former Orthodox Jewish place of worship on Nelson Street in Whitechapel, had been closed since 2020 after its roof collapsed.
As news spread of the attack, so did claims that the former synagogue was now a mosque.
Last February, a Muslim community group announced they were making plans to purchase the disused synagogue and turn it intoa mosque.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Ashaadibi Education and Cultural Centre said they had recently made a deposit to purchase the synagogue and “restore it into a community hub, providing space for worship, education, and provisions for women and youth, as well as a place for community development and fostering dialogue”.
“We unequivocally condemn this cowardly act of arson and any form of violence or intimidation directed at places of worship and the communities they serve. An attack on a house of worship is an attack on all of us,” the statement added.
Counter-terrorism police said they are investigating whether the attack is part of an arson campaign against the Jewish community in London.
Witnesses revealed there was an attempt to break the window and throw something into it, while CCTV showed two men wearing hoodies carrying out the attack.
Police said, “minor damage was caused to a set of gates and a lock at the front of the building”, and no one was injured.
A group allegedly linked to Iran called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), which has claimed responsibility for previous attacks, noted the attack but did not claim responsibility.
The latest incident follows a series of attacks in March targeting the Jewish community in London amid the Iran war.
Just hours before the attack, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a summit in Downing Street focused on tackling antisemitism, saying he would be fast-tracking hate crime prosecutions, announcing an extra £1.5 million in funding to protect the Jewish community, calling the situation a “crisis”.
Starmer has also threatened to ban some pro-Palestine marches, which have taken place frequently in response to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, claiming that these protests were fuelling antisemitism.
However, the marches have been largely peaceful and usually include a large contingent of Jewish protesters.
The Metropolitan Police also announced on Wednesday a new unit of 100 extra officers to help protect the Jewish community.
On 29 April, two Jewish men were stabbed in the Golders Green area of north London by a British man of Somali origin with a history of mental illness.
He had no known links to the pro-Palestine movement and had also stabbed a Muslim acquaintance prior to the attacks on the Jewish men.
Since the incident, however, politicians and the media in the UK have lasered in on the pro-Palestine movement, claiming with little evidence that it is connected to a rise in antisemitism in the country, while doing far less to address rising Islamophobia despite reports of a 763% increase in anti-Muslim incidents since October 2023.
