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Gone quiet · last update Oct 2, 2026 / United Kingdom

Britain's 2026 attacks and plots against its Jewish community

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

After the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026, Britain's Jewish community faced a string of attacks and plots: arsons at Jewish sites in London, the stabbing of two Jewish men and a foiled plot in Manchester.[1][2][3] The government raised the national terror threat level to severe and declared antisemitism an emergency.[4] In July it said a group backed by Iran was behind the arson and vandalism attacks, and banned it.[5] In October, two Iranian men were charged with preparing a terrorist attack on Manchester's Jewish community.[6]

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The government raised the national terror threat level to severe and declared antisemitism an emergency.[4] In July it said a group backed by Iran was behind the arson and vandalism attacks, and banned it.[5] In October, two Iranian men were charged with preparing a terrorist attack on Manchester's Jewish community.[6]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-03-02 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 175 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): 18%, 30 of 170 tracked outlets (9 left, 16 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): 5%, 8 of 156 tracked outlets (3 left, 2 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-04-20 (UTC): 3%, 4 of 157 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-04-27 (UTC): 16%, 26 of 160 tracked outlets (9 left, 10 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): 5%, 8 of 176 tracked outlets (2 left, 6 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 559 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 466 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 475 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 4%, 17 of 476 tracked outlets (3 left, 10 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 6 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (11 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Sep 28, 2026310417 of 4764%
Sep 21, 20260123 of 4791%
Aug 31, 20261001 of 475under 1%
Aug 24, 20261225 of 4661%
Jul 13, 20262237 of 5591%
May 11, 20262608 of 1765%
Apr 27, 2026910726 of 16016%
Apr 20, 20262204 of 1573%
Apr 13, 20263238 of 1565%
Mar 23, 2026916530 of 17018%
Mar 2, 20261326 of 1753%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 2, 2026 · first reported · Headline from KION Central Coast

    2 Iranian men charged over alleged bomb plot to target UK Jewish community appear in court

Background

In early March 2026, London police arrested four men on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on locations and people linked to the Jewish community.[7] Weeks later, four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer rescue charity, were set on fire outside a synagogue in Golders Green, the London neighborhood home to the city's largest Jewish community. Police treated it as an antisemitic hate crime and examined a claim of responsibility from a group with suspected links to Iran.[8] Two men were arrested in the case days later.[9]

Read the full background (4 more paragraphs)

In April, attackers threw bottles likely containing gasoline at a synagogue in Finchley, and Britain's chief rabbi described a "sustained campaign of violence and intimidation" against Jews.[10] After another attack caused minor damage at Kenton United Synagogue, police said they were investigating whether the string of arsons was the work of Iranian proxies. The attacks had also targeted a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran's government.[11]

On April 29, two Jewish men were stabbed and injured in broad daylight in Golders Green in what police called an act of terrorism. A 45-year-old man, Essa Suleiman, was charged with attempted murder.[2] Britain raised its national terrorism threat level from substantial to severe.[4] The government declared antisemitism an emergency and pledged millions to increase security at Jewish sites, though some in the community criticized it.[12] Prince Harry warned of a "deeply troubling rise" in antisemitism.[13]

The government then named a culprit for the arsons. On July 13, it said a series of arson and vandalism attacks on Jewish sites had been carried out by the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or IMCR, a proxy group backed by Iran. It banned the group alongside Iran's Revolutionary Guard, making aid to either punishable by up to life in prison.[5] In August, four young men pleaded guilty to destroying the Hatzola ambulances, an attack that caused about £1 million in damage. They are to be sentenced in the spring of 2027.[1]

On September 20, the eve of Yom Kippur, police arrested two men in Manchester and said they had foiled an imminent terror plot targeting the city's Jewish community.[3] The two, Iranian nationals Salam Ahmadyan and Rahman Salehi, who had entered Britain on small boats, were charged with preparing acts of terrorism and accused of plotting to bomb a Manchester synagogue. Police said they may have been in contact with a third party overseas, possibly in Iran.[6]

Supporting stories (13)
  1. 4 men plead guilty to torching 4 London-based ambulances operated by Jewish charity
  2. 2 Jewish men stabbed in London attack
  3. Police: Terror plot targeting Manchester's Jewish community foiled
  4. UK raises national terror threat level after the stabbing of 2 Jewish men
  5. UK says an Iran-backed group was behind attacks on Jewish community and bans Revolutionary Guard
  6. 2 Iranian men charged over alleged bomb plot to target UK Jewish community appear in court
  7. 4 men arrested in UK on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on Jewish community
  8. Jewish ambulances set ablaze in London
  9. UK police arrest 2 men over arson attack on ambulances belonging to Jewish volunteer group
  10. Police investigate attempted arson attack at north-west London synagogue
  11. U.K police investigating if attacks in London are the work of Iranian proxies
  12. U.K. vows to tackle antisemitism 'emergency' as police probe double stabbing attack
  13. Prince Harry warns of ‘deeply troubling rise’ in antisemitism in UK after spate of attacks

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 13 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. 2 Iranian men charged over alleged bomb plot to target UK Jewish community appear in courtHeadline from KION Central Coast · 22 outlets

September 2026

  1. Police: Terror plot targeting Manchester's Jewish community foiledHeadline from UPI · 4 outlets

August 2026

  1. 4 men plead guilty to torching 4 London-based ambulances operated by Jewish charityHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 9 outlets

July 2026

  1. UK says an Iran-backed group was behind attacks on Jewish community and bans Revolutionary GuardHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 8 outlets

May 2026

  1. Prince Harry warns of ‘deeply troubling rise’ in antisemitism in UK after spate of attacksHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 9 outlets

April 2026

  1. UK raises national terror threat level after the stabbing of 2 Jewish menHeadline from Seattle Times · 5 outlets
  2. U.K. vows to tackle antisemitism 'emergency' as police probe double stabbing attackHeadline from Los Angeles Times · 5 outlets
  3. 2 Jewish men stabbed in London attackHeadline from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette · 25 outlets
  4. U.K police investigating if attacks in London are the work of Iranian proxiesHeadline from NPR · 10 outlets
  5. Police investigate attempted arson attack at north-west London synagogueHeadline from The Guardian · 6 outlets

March 2026

  1. UK police arrest 2 men over arson attack on ambulances belonging to Jewish volunteer groupHeadline from New York Post · 18 outlets
  2. Jewish ambulances set ablaze in LondonHeadline from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette · 29 outlets
  3. 4 men arrested in UK on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on Jewish communityHeadline from ABC 7 Chicago · 7 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →