Britain’s Starmer convenes community leaders to tackle anti-Semitism after attacks

LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged leaders from across society on May 5 to work together to eradicate anti-Semitism “from every corner”, as he convened a meeting following the stabbing of two Jewish men and a string of other assaults.

The attacks have left communities fearing for their safety and piled pressure on the governing Labour Party, particularly ahead of local elections on May 7. The leader of the opposition Conservative Party has called anti-Semitism a “national emergency”.

Moments after Mr Starmer began speaking, the counter-terrorism police confirmed they had launched an investigation into an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London.

The incident was the latest in a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets since March, most of them in north London, some of which the authorities are examining for possible Iranian links.

Mr Starmer told the meeting – which brought together representatives from business, health, culture, higher education and policing for talks with members of the Jewish community – that investigators were examining whether a foreign state could be behind some of the incidents.

“Our message to Iran or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that the government was fast-tracking legislation to tackle threats.

Mr Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, said in a statement on May 4 that last week’s stabbings were part of a pattern of rising anti-Semitism that has left the country’s Jewish communities feeling frightened and angry.

The government has since raised the national terrorism threat level to “severe” and announced an additional £25 million (S$43 million) in funding to bolster protection of the country’s estimated 290,000-strong Jewish community.

“Make no mistake, this crisis – it is a crisis for all of us. It is a test of our values ... it is not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities. We must show it,” Mr Starmer added.

Leaders from business, civil society, higher education

A new £1 million support package was announced to target anti-Semitism in high-risk areas, with a further £500,000 allocated to the local authority covering the area where the stabbings took place.

Mr Starmer also announced new requirements for universities to publish details of anti-Semitic incidents on their campuses and the steps being taken to address them.

“Only by working together, we eradicate anti-Semitism from every corner,” he said.

The Global Terrorism Index, issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace, has said that while deaths from terrorism fell worldwide in 2025, terrorism-related fatalities in Western countries surged by 280 per cent compared with 2024, largely driven by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and political terrorism.

In Britain, government data published in 2025 showed sharp rises in hate crimes against both Jewish and Muslim communities in the months following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. REUTERS