London cops announce new unit to protect Jews amid surging antisemitic violence

Metropolitan Police say ‘community protection team’ to initially have 100 officers who will combine neighborhood patrols with ‘specialist protection and counterterror capabilities’

London’s Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the creation of a special unit to protect Jews following a spate of hate attacks amid growing antisemitism.

The Met said the new “community protection team” will initially comprise 100 extra officers and combine neighborhood policing with “specialist protection and counterterrorism capabilities.”

It will provide “a more visible, intelligence‑led and coordinated presence focused on protecting” London’s Jewish communities, the force said in a statement.

The announcement came the day after police said they were probing the latest arson attack targeting Jews, this time involving a former synagogue in east London.

It followed last week’s stabbing of two Jewish men in the Golders Green area of north London, which is home to a large Jewish community.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over the terror attack, in which he wounded the pair.

In March, an arson attack in the same neighborhood destroyed four ambulances operated by the Hatzola Jewish charity, while bottles suspected of containing gasoline have been thrown at two synagogues in other separate incidents.

The Met noted in its announcement that it has arrested over 80 people in the past four weeks in response to both antisemitic hate crimes and the string of arson attacks amid the war with Iran, some of which authorities are examining for possible Iranian links.

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley revealed last week he had been discussing with ministers and officials about creating a 300-strong neighborhood policing team, including specialist armed officers, for the Jewish community, citing what he said was the greatest-ever threat facing UK Jews. British and other Diaspora Jewish communities were already facing a massive spike in antisemitism amid the war sparked in Gaza by the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Rowley hailed the creation of the new team, with around a third of the force size he called for, as “an important step in strengthening our response to the sustained threats Jewish communities are facing.”

“It brings together experienced local officers who know their communities, supported by specialist capabilities, to provide more visible, consistent and intelligence‑led protection,” he added in Wednesday’s statement.

The London police added the unit would initially be “primarily focused” on protecting the Jewish community but was “also intended to provide a blueprint for how policing responds when tensions rise” in other communities.

“This focus does not mean the Metropolitan Police is deprioritizing other communities,” the force added.

“Hate crime in all its forms — including ongoing efforts to tackle racism, anti‑Muslim hate crime, homophobia and other forms of hatred in the capital — remains a core policing priority.”

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the chief prosecutor for England and Wales Stephen Parkinson announced hate crime prosecutions were set to be fast-tracked due to the “deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents.”