LONDON (AP) — London police announced Wednesday the creation of a special security unit to protect Jews following a wave of hate attacks amid rising anti-Semitism.
Police said the new “community protection team” will initially include 100 additional members, and will combine neighborhood patrols with “specialized protection and counter-terrorism capabilities.”
This team will provide “a greater visible presence, supported by intelligence and coordination, focused on protecting” Jewish communities in London, according to a police statement.
On Tuesday, police announced the opening of an investigation into an arson incident at the site of a former synagogue in east London.
This came after two Jewish men were stabbed last week in the Golders Green area in north London, which has a large number of Jews.
A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the stabbing incident.
In March, an arson attack in the same neighborhood destroyed four ambulances belonging to the Jewish charity Hatzola. In two separate incidents, bottles believed to be Molotov cocktails were thrown at two synagogues.
The Metropolitan Police indicated in its statement that it had arrested more than 80 people during the past four weeks following anti-Semitic hate crimes and arson.
Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley revealed last week that he had discussed with ministers and officials the establishment of a 300-member community police team to protect Jews.
Rowley praised the establishment of the new team, which includes about a third of the previous number, considering it “an important step in strengthening our response to the ongoing threats facing Jewish communities.”
He added in a statement on Wednesday that this team “includes experienced local personnel who know their communities, supported by specialized capabilities to provide more visible, consistent and intelligence-based protection.”
The Metropolitan Police added that the unit will initially focus primarily on protecting members of the Jewish community, but “it also aims to provide a model for how the police can respond to escalating tensions” in other communities.
The police emphasized that “this focus does not mean that the Metropolitan Police neglects members of other sects.”
She continued, “Hate crimes in all their forms, including ongoing efforts to combat racism, anti-Muslim hate crimes, homophobia, and other forms of hatred in the capital, remain one of the police’s most important priorities.”
In this context, the Attorney General for England and Wales, Stephen Parkinson, announced on Tuesday that he would accelerate the procedures for examining hate crimes in light of the “very worrying rise in anti-Semitic incidents.”
