Finchley Reform Synagogue in north London was my community for several years. This was a place where I found belonging, singing at Friday night services. I taught weekend classes with children ahead of their bar- and batmitzvah. The synagogue’s former rabbi, Miriam Berger, officiated our wedding when I married my husband.

Last week, along with a synagogue in nearby Kenton and a building that previously housed Jewish charities in Hendon, this community was subject to an arson attack that mercifully did not cause substantial harm. Yet the emotional and psychological impact has been felt far beyond the physical damage. These attacks feel close to home, grounded in the very real dangers Jews face globally.

Last year was the deadliest for Jewish communities around the world in three decades. Murderous attacks on Jews simply for being Jews – including at a Hanukah candle-lighting on Bondi beach and during Yom Kippur at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester – were among antisemitic attacks that took 20 lives in 2025.

Jewish people in Britain are feeling afraid, isolated and, too often, ignored. In recent weeks I’ve been part of conversations where people have said they’re looking to leave the UK, or have already left, largely due to the rise in hatred and violence we face as Jews. I have spoken with parents nervous about their children securing a place in a Jewish school, hoping to protect them from the harassment and........

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