London’s Metropolitan Police launches new 100-officer unit to protect Jewish communities

JTA – London’s police force has created a new unit to protect Jews, in the latest effort to stem a wave of attacks and calm mounting anxiety in the city’s Jewish communities. 

The new “Community Protection Team” will boast 100 members and include both officers already working in Jewish communities and newly assigned officers, the Metropolitan Police announced on Wednesday. 

The announcement came a day after arson at a disused synagogue and a week after a stabbing of two Jewish men in the Orthodox neighbourhood of Golders Green. It also comes a day after top Metropolitan Police brass joined an emergency summit on antisemitic violence convened by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, his home and office. 

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said he was working with the British government and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to secure additional funding beyond the £25 million (R556.1 million) allocated last week to safeguard Jewish communities. 

“We are working with government and the mayor to ensure the approach we are building can be sustained over time, not just for Jewish communities, but as a model that can support other communities across London when facing elevated risk,” Rowley said in a statement. “A settled, long‑term model built around local teams will be far more effective than repeated emergency responses, reducing risk and delivering lasting reassurance.” 

Welcoming the new police unit, Khan called on Londoners to share in the task of tackling antisemitism. 

“Working with the police and others, I am determined to bear down on antisemitism and ensure Jewish Londoners feel safe and are safe in our city,” he said in a statement. “Alongside the police action we need a relentless approach to tackling all hate crime in London and we all have a role to play in calling out hate in all its forms to build a safer London for everyone.” 

The Metropolitan Police revealed on Wednesday that it has arrested “about 50 people” over the past four weeks in connection with antisemitic hate crimes, and eight had already been formally charged. The force disclosed previously unreported incidents including a man arrested on Friday “following reports he threatened a Jewish man while using racially offensive language” and a man arrested on Saturday after rocks were thrown at a Jewish community ambulance that was transporting a patient. 

The force had previously announced more than two dozen arrests linked to a series of arson attacks at synagogues and ambulances owned by the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola, as well as the man accused of carrying out the Golders Green stabbing attack. Police officials have said they believe at least some of the people arrested may have been paid, possibly by Iran, to carry out the attacks. 

The Community Security Trust (CST), Britain’s Jewish security charity, said it welcomed the creation of the new unit and viewed the mounting arrests as evidence of the police force’s seriousness when it comes to protecting Jewish Londoners. 

“This new measure is an important step at a time of heightened anti-Jewish hatred and reflects the seriousness of the threats currently facing the community,” the group said in a statement. “The increase in the number of arrests for antisemitic hate crimes in recent weeks is a welcome sign of effective action being taken by the police, which we hope will send a strong message both to the Jewish community and to would-be offenders. CST will continue to work closely with the police, government, and other partners to tackle antisemitic hate crime and to protect Jewish life, and we welcome efforts to build a lasting model of protection to tackle this hatred.”