Earlier on this week, ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer emergency medical service were deliberately attacked outside a synagogue in Golders Green, one of London’s most established Jewish neighbourhoods.
These were not military vehicles. They were not symbols of any state or government. They were ambulances. Vehicles whose sole purpose is to save lives, staffed by volunteers who respond to emergencies. They were targeted because they serve the Jewish community and this should shake every one of us to the core.
This was not an isolated incident. It sits within a deeply troubling pattern. The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents across the UK in 2025, more than double the figure from 2022. In October 2025, two Jewish worshippers were killed in a car-ramming and stabbing attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. Across Europe, explosions and attacks have struck Jewish schools and synagogues. The message being sent to Jewish communities is unmistakable and unconscionable: you are not safe.
As Liberals, we must say clearly and without equivocation: antisemitism is a poison, and it is rising. It is rising on the far right, where conspiracy theories about Jewish power have never gone away. It is rising in certain strands of discourse around the Middle East, where legitimate criticism of a government slides into the demonisation of an entire nation. And it is rising in the everyday in the abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people on public transport, in the graffiti daubed on synagogue walls, in the casual remarks that go unchallenged in workplaces and on social media. We cannot claim to be a party of human rights and look the other way.
But antisemitism does not exist in isolation. Hatred rarely limits itself to a single target. What we are witnessing in Britain today is a broader crisis of hate that cuts across communities. Anti-Muslim hate crimes in England and Wales rose by 19% in the year ending March 2025, with over 3,100 offences recorded. The London Assembly noted that more than 1,000 Islamophobic hate crimes were recorded in London alone in 2025 and that an estimated 80% of incidents go unreported. The Islamophobia Response Unit documented a staggering 377% surge in cases between 2023 and 2024. Mosques have been firebombed, Muslim women have been abused in the street for wearing the hijab, and the far-right riots of August 2024 saw the deliberate targeting of Muslim communities across the country.
The picture for LGBT+ communities is no less alarming. Home Office statistics show that in the year ending March 2025, more than 18,000 hate crimes were motivated by sexual orientation and over 3,000 were related to transgender identity. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have risen by around 44% over the past five years. As Liberal Democrats, we have long championed the rights of LGBT+ people, and we must not waver now when the backlash is at its fiercest.
The thread connecting these different forms of hatred is the same dehumanising logic: that some people, by virtue of their faith, their heritage, their identity or whom they love, are less deserving of safety, dignity, and belonging. That logic must be confronted wherever it appears on the streets, in our institutions, and yes, in our politics too. When mainstream politicians use inflammatory language about minorities, when media outlets frame entire communities through the lens of suspicion, and when social media platforms allow hate to spread unchecked, they create the conditions in which violence becomes possible.
It is also worth pausing to reflect on what these communities have given to Britain. The Jewish community has been part of the fabric of this country for centuries, contributing immeasurably to our legal traditions, our sciences, our arts, our commerce, and our public life. From the first Jewish MPs who fought for the right to take their seats in Parliament, to the generations of Jewish doctors, teachers, writers, and entrepreneurs who have shaped modern Britain, this is a community whose contribution is woven into the DNA of our nation. The same is true of Muslim communities, whose presence in Britain stretches back generations and whose contributions to the NHS, to education, to business, and to public service are enormous. Sikh communities have served this country with extraordinary distinction, from the battlefields of both World Wars to the gurdwaras that fed thousands during the pandemic. Hindu communities have enriched our cultural, professional, and civic life in ways too numerous to count. Britain is great because of its diversity.
The Liberal Democrats have always understood this. Our tradition is one that believes in the inherent worth of every individual, the right to live free from persecution, and the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens equally. That tradition demands more than warm words after an atrocity. It demands sustained political will: proper funding for community security, robust enforcement of hate crime legislation, real accountability for social media platforms, and a political culture that refuses to scapegoat minorities for electoral advantage.
The burnt shells of those ambulances in Golders Green are a searing image. But they should also serve as a rallying cry. An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on all of us. An attack on Muslim communities is an attack on all of us. Hatred directed at LGBT+ people, at Sikhs, at Hindus, at any community, diminishes every one of us.
* Kamran Hussain was a candidate for Vice President in 2025 and is a managing partner/solicitor.
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20 Comments
100% Kamran. Well said
“.. robust enforcement of hate crime legislation…”
Absolutely. Hate crimes – i.e. any crime motivated by hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity – are aggravated offences that should result in greater punishments than would normally apply for those crimes. It is essential that prosecutors make the case for enhanced punishments in these circumstances.
Thank you Kamran for a highly relevant piece about hate crimes. Where I live in North Staffordshire there are too many people who oppose all Muslims just because of ISIS and terrorism. Likewise too many who hate Jews just because of the government of Israel. I notice your mention of social media and that is important. If only government did more about that. However, it does not help either when the general media focus so much on a particular incident and government spokespeople condemn whoever has committed that crime without saying loud and clear that hate crime against anyone just because of who they are is unacceptable. Surely that would help contain the cycle of violence when people from one side use a violent act as an excuse to commit violence against the other side.
There’s always a whiff of Jew hatred in these pages. What a shame our own Bharat Pankhania called the ambulance burning a false flag operation, and somehow Nigel Jones above has to drag in Islamophobia rather than the obvious. Deeply disappointing.
I agree. We need to stand up against all forms of hatred.
Social media has opened up every form of hatred from A to Z because it is anonymous. We need a written constitution. One with rights and responsibilities. One that makes it absolutely crystal clear what is and what is not acceptable in a civic society. People should have an over-riding duty towards each other. Haters wherever they are and whatever flag they follow cease to be card carrying members of the human race and a danger. For a society to function it need boundaries.
“Haters wherever they are and whatever flag they follow cease to be card carrying members of the human race and a danger”…
Who gets to decide what that hate consists of..
We have a defacto anti blasphemy law in the UK which only relates to one religion, which too many on the progressive left have proved their tolerance by embracing the intolorent. Deeply illeberal.
“Haters wherever they are and whatever flag they follow cease to be card carrying members of the human race and a danger.”
Sorry, no. This goes far too far. Once you declare that any group of people may be deemed to be sub-human, you are tacitly threatening their exclusion or worse, and you are yourself becoming a hater.
Attack the hate speech. Don’t attack an ill-defined group of “hate speakers”.
What a pity that Alan Franck cannot distinguish between loathing for the Israeli government and hatred of Jews. The whole point of this thread is that anti semitism and Islamophobia are equally vile and that Liberals need to be vocal in speaking out against them both.
The problems in the Middle East stem from mutual hatred on both sides. The need for reconciliation and peace has never been more pressing. What will Mr Franck do to bring that about? Making out that anti semitism is somehow more egregious than Islamophobia really doesn’t help.
Craig Levine. You seem to be remarkably shy about revealing whether or not you are a Reform supporter, though I’ve seen enough clues in your comments to have my suspicions. Do tell.
We need a written constitution. One with rights and responsibilities. People should have an over-riding duty towards each other.
@ Tony/Cumbria,
“We need a written constitution. One with rights and responsibilities. ……”
Possibly. The first article would have to define what kind of country we should be. This could be a problem as a substantial minority wouldn’t agree the term monarchy. Even if if the adjective ‘constitutional’ is added.
The question of EU membership would have to be addressed. Former Leavers would want an article prohibiting any foreign interference in our system of governance which could be problematic for former Remainers.
If we are going to require that a supermajority of 70% or so is needed to change the constitution, we’d need to have this level of support for it to start with. Would we get that?
@ Peter Martin,
Prohibiting any foreign interference by Remainers?
More to the point, tell that to Trump and Putin.
David: What are the limits of liberalism, how tolerant should we be of religious intolerance. How about playing the ball and not the man.
Trotting out lets all be kind , diversity is our strength etc. From Charlie Hebdo , to 7/7, to the Manchester Arena – no religion should be immune from critiscm, satire or ridicule. Sadly we reached a position where one is.
Thanks for your perspective Peter. My suggestion was an attempt to look at solutions to the problems we face as a society. I would rather be the adult than the elephant in the room.
Kamran Hussain…. But antisemitism does not exist in isolation. Hatred rarely limits itself to a single target. What we are witnessing in Britain today is a broader crisis of hate that cuts across communities….
Exactly!
At 82 years old I remember the 1950/60’s when racism was overt; the nadir was probably the 1964 Smethwick Tory campaign that successfully exploited anti-immigrant sentiment.. In those days it was usually ‘the race rather than the religion’ that was the target…
For a time it seemed that, as a society, we had become more tolerant and that irrational hatred of minorities was confined to a few extreme groups and individuals who were ridiculed rather than taken seriously.. However, I don’t know exactly when and how, their views became ‘acceptable’ in mainstream parties and on the pages of ‘best selling’ newspapers…
The most frightening thing is that it is not just the UK, the USA, France and much of Europe are seeing a rise in such views.. It is almost as though this is symptomatic of an ever increasing section of humanity..
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad”
@Chloe: Sure, because the 7/7 and Manchester Arena bombers got off with a slap on the wrist. </sarcasm>
Alex as you probably know it’s the ideology behind it that Chloe was referring to. The liberal left has a blind spot on this just to prove how tolerant it is. Ultimately it will be it’s undoing. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of a liberal society..Nobody has a right not be offended . What’s evolved is a de facto anti blasphemy law . All too often inclusivity is used to mask intolerance & that is the opposite of what a liberal society should be …
Chloe 27th Mar ’26 – 2:19pm…Craig Levene 29th Mar ’26 – 5:06am..
There are extremists in EVERY religion who take their flawed ‘Bibles’ literally.. After all, Israel’s actions in Gaza , West Bank and the Iran war has more support from US ‘Fundamental Christians’ than from US Jews..
@Craig Levene: No, the illiberal left, the a-liberal-is-a-yellow-Tory left often has a blindspot. I am a liberal, among other things, because I have no truck with that kind of infantile leftism.