Starmer to Iran: Britain won’t tolerate incitement of antisemitism

LONDON — Keir Starmer warned Tuesday that Britain will not tolerate foreign states spreading anti-Jewish hate.

Speaking during a Downing Street summit on antisemitism, the British prime minister said police are investigating whether a foreign power is behind a recent spate of anti-Jewish attacks in the U.K.

“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,” Starmer said.

The British PM said additional security measures alone will not prevent attacks.

“We must also deal with the forces that drive this hatred in the first place, so we’re confronting them directly,” he said.

“One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents. We’re investigating, of course, all the possibilities and we’re clear that these actions will have consequences if that proves to be the case,” Starmer added.

Counterterrorism officers were investigating a suspected arson at a former synagogue in east London Tuesday morning, the Met police said in a statement.

That attack comes after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, last Wednesday. A 45-year-old man, Essa Suleiman, has been charged with attempted murder.

Four ambulances from the Jewish community service Hatzola were attacked in March, and seven people were arrested last month on suspicion of conspiracy to commit an arson attack targeting the Jewish community.

Two Jewish men were also killed last October during an attack at a synagogue in Greater Manchester.

The government said it is allocating an extra £25 million for police patrols in Jewish communities, and providing a further £1 million for councils to tackle antisemitism and improve community cohesion.

Universities will be required to publish information about the scale of antisemitism on their campuses, the prime minister also announced. Starmer also said the Arts Council must “claw back” funding from organizations that promote antisemitism.