London Boroughs Faith Network (LBFN) and London Communities Emergencies Partnership (LCEP) convened 64 partners from faith groups, charities, community organisations, statutory, and emergency‑response organisations. This meeting was organised within 24 hours thank you to everyone who ensured they could attend in such a last-minute notice, highlighting the importance of holding this space.
The meeting was convened due to the recent wave of antisemitism attacks in London, most recently the Golders Green Terror Attack which took place in North London April 29th, 2026. Partners emphasised the importance of cross‑community solidarity, noting that the impacts extend beyond the Jewish community such as to migrant and Muslim communities. They also highlighted the need for coordinated, cross‑sector action to address misinformation, and for youth voices to be embedded at all levels of discussion and decision‑making.
These notes are in two sections:
- Section 1: Community Voices – quotes from participants. Read this if you want to get a feel for the emotional content of the meeting.
- Section 2: Summaries and Action Points. Read this if you want to focus on the potential outcomes, links to resources and action points.
Section 1: Community Voices
“I just want to start by saying we’re here for you, my dear brothers and sisters in the Jewish community. Your safety is our safety. Your struggle is our struggle. And I think it’s time that we, in challenging times like this one, we need tools. It’s not just through words, but through actions. And this is what faith communities should be about. In challenging times, this is where we need to show the best of our qualities and our solidarity. We need to make sure we actually are really working closely together and making sure that we don’t allow anybody to break our cohesion. We don’t allow anybody to come between us and divide us, because we have enough problems, and the country needs the faith communities and their resources.”
“I’m seeing a lot of Jewish friends very worried, very concerned. And people outside the Jewish community saying that they didn’t see this and being surprised that the Jewish community are concerned and upset.”
“My request is, can people please make sure that they are not spreading misinformation and that information is checked before it’s shared? I was really shocked that a professional emergency services person [shared incorrect information about Hatzola] and standing behind this incorrect information. So that’s my personal request.”
“This is not the first instance where young Somali individuals have been got involved in such incidents. And often these people were known to the state, were known to the system, with mental health issues. There was an incident with this individual earlier in the day and there’s a feeling, why was it not dealt with then; and why has the Somali victim been downplayed? I think it’s really important that we understand these things because we need to be able to reassure communities what went wrong.”
“We can bring communities together, show solidarity. Last week, I was participating in the Walk of Faith. We saw a great opportunity to bring faith communities together. We need to find opportunities of hope that we are going to work together and we need to build on those.”
“I completely agree with the last speaker who said that we shouldn’t be politicizing these things because it only makes things worse. We don’t really want to go out hitting and hurting out at normal individuals. There’s so many of us who are living here from so many different communities, and an attack on any community here is an attack on all of us. We don’t seem to recognize this fact. We all seem to think it’s only one particular community that might be under fire. It seems to change from time to time, at the moment it’s horrendously aimed at the Jewish community.”
“Young people are left out of these conversations, and I think, again, today, we haven’t got any youth here. We need to get them engaged somehow, and I think they’re very, very passionate about this, because at the end of the day they’re going to be around longer than us, hopefully, and this is their future and their present as well.”
“I think one of the issue is that we got so many conflicts, different opinions, but we all have to come together to agree that we cannot agree with everything. And I also feel from the feedback that I received from the community is that there is a lack of conversation on the grassroots. There is no safe space where we could bring people in together to have conversation about their peers, their challenges. And see, and to hear the other voices about what they’re going through, or what can we do better on the grassroots, to solve the things, to solve these conflicts. It’s not necessarily from top down, because in general, I feel that people do not really trust what the government is doing. So people like us that are on the grassroots, we need to do something from bottom up.”
“It doesn’t just mean that one group has to be protected and another doesn’t. No, that’s not how it works. Of course, giving more money; we’ve been giving a lot of money anyway to the places of worship, especially to the Jewish community who are under fire, which is fine. But that is not the whole answer. It’s only a tiny bit of the answer. We all, every single community, we all matter and unless we all stand up together and very openly voice our expressions of whatever we are feeling deep down inside, how it’s not right to have to hide your identity.”
“Could we please do something that we publicly stand up and voice our things together, but not in demonstrations, which are only taking away our police from us, our resources from us, which is… we’re badly, very badly strapped at the moment as a government, and we do want to all work together. It’s a common issue. We all have to make sure that every single person here is safe, not just one community against another.”
“Me and colleagues have done nothing except for dealing with security questions for the last 3 weeks, basically. Both pastorally, but also really practically, like do we need this new lock on the store. And I think we’re talking about a real human rights issue – I know that the Jewish community is not the only one; I know the Muslim community, for instance, is also deeply affected by attacks on their communities. But we’re right next door to a church who can keep their door open, and they don’t have to have airlocks and fences and things like that. It really saddens me when we have a situation, and I think it is a human rights issue, when one community can live freely and express their faith freely, and other communities have to hide behind barriers.”
“And many of us may not realize this, but trauma, living in fear or having a friend live in fear, causes changes in brains, our bodies, and these changes caused by trauma can be passed down genetically from one generation to another.”
“There’s been so much hatred that’s been stimulated from the online space directed at the Jewish community, and of course other communities as well. And you can really see that in the local election campaigns with the number of candidates have been suspended and whose attention had been by media and journalists have been drawn to them for the absolutely abhorrent anti-Semitic posts and quotes and all sorts and how toxic it has been is a new level. And of course being very much online as a society now it does spill over and especially when we talk about young people and so much of radicalisation does happen online. If you look at Twitter, the amount of misinformation, anything bad happens in the world and within the first 10 comment that the Jews did it. Somehow the Jews did it, somehow the Zionists, somehow Israel’s behind it. And, you know, it’s hard to kind of close your eyes to how this doesn’t contribute to radicalisation.”
“Just want to repeat, it’s very important that we have trust within the people together, here, this morning. And that trust is actually actioned in a way which is not just words.”
Section 2: Summaries and Action Points
1. Immediate & Strategic Actions
Coordination & Next Steps
LBFN & LCEP: Collate and share notes/insights with all participants (Complete).
VCSEP: Share insights with national government.
LBFN, LCEP, and VCSEP: Convene to discuss formal next steps and implementation.
Met Police & Partners: Review the meeting readout for specific actionable insights.
LBFN: Continue the “Voices for Change” initiative, focusing on shifting conversations into practical actions.
Long-Term Calls to Action
Youth Engagement: Develop strategies to include youth voices in future planning, strategy, and insights to combat radicalisation.
Information Integrity: Implement better factchecking and identify trusted messengers to amplify factual information beyond policing.
Security Funding: Advocate for new security funding models beyond the current 50% subsidy to reduce the financial burden on faith institutions.
Safe Spaces: Create concrete mechanisms for grassroots “safe space” conversations at scale.
Solidarity in Practice: Define practical suggestions for what ‘standing up for’ other communities looks like in a tangible sense.
2. Meeting Themes: Community Impact & Concerns
Misinformation & Radicalisation
The Risk: Rapid spread of misinformation across social media affects those with existing vulnerabilities, particularly those known to mental health services who may be at risk of grooming. Online antisemitism is a major driver of real-world violence.
Action: Professionals must check information before sharing; misinformation erodes trust.
Resource: Misinformation and disinformation in London: risks and responses – London Datastore
Youth Impact & Engagement Gap
The Risk: Young people are susceptible to radicalisation and bear the long-term consequences of insecurity yet are often excluded from the strategy.
Case Study: C-Change West London & Hillingdon Interfaith Community Group developed a youth-led film series: “A Day in the Life of a Faith Leader”.
Heightened Fear & Resource Burden
Jewish Community: Significant fear following recent attacks (9 in one month) has led to changed behaviours (avoiding synagogues, hiding identity). Faith institutions face hundreds of thousands of pounds in security costs.
Muslim & Somali Communities: Concerns regarding collective blame, Islamophobic attacks, and further marginalisation.
Inequality of Worship: Strong concern that some communities must worship behind barriers and guards, framing this as a fundamental human rights and dignity issue.
Politicisation, Polarisation & Trust
Complexity: Divergent views on protests (expressions of values vs. triggers of trauma). Need to avoid simplistic narratives that fuel tension.
Action: Move beyond professional statements toward visible, coordinated community solidarity.
Communication: Use plain, “everyday” language rather than professional jargon when engaging the public.
3. Solidarity & Support Resources
Case Studies in Action
Senior Faith in Leadership Program: Faith leaders meeting for lunch in Golders Green this Bank Holiday Monday to support local businesses and demonstrate visible peacebuilding.
Camden “Million Acts of Hope”: Event on 13 May (Camden Methodist Church/Libraries) capturing messages of solidarity to be displayed during Sukkot.
Hate Crime & Victim Support
Victim Support: 24/7 support is available for all affected. Please share these links:
London Hate Crime Stakeholder Reference Group: Join to scrutinise and inform the Met Police and MOPAC: hatecrimesrg.org
Stop Hate UK: Information and reporting resources: stophateuk.org
4. Areas for Further Thought
What practical advice can partners provide for community-led solidarity initiatives?
How can we empower “everyday citizens” to address these massive societal challenges?
How do we ensure the phrase “an attack on one is an attack on all” does not diminish the specific nature of current anti-Jewish attacks?
Met Police
Six-Tier Operational Response following Golders Green Attack:
- CT-led investigation: Golders Green declared terrorist incident; Counter-Terrorism leading criminal justice process
- Consequence management: Local policing ensuring rapid scene release and community reassurance
- Communication, engagement and reassurance: Commissioner leading from front; forums held with Jewish, Somali, and Muslim communities
- Policing in immediate aftermath: Business-as-usual maintained while accelerating response to hate crime specifically antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes, see spikes and surges after incidents such as Golders Green Terror Attack.
- Met Police role in national response: Met supporting all UK forces to ensure consistent, proportionate responses and sharing of lessons.
- Strategic policing requirement: Reviewing preparedness; Joint Intelligence Committee raised threat level to severe (another attack highly likely)
Policing Principles:
Human rights framework central: balancing Article 8 (private/family life), Article 9 (religious belief), Article 10 (freedom of expression) in all decisions
Recognising disproportionate surge in antisemitic crime relative to Jewish population size; tailoring response to threat/harm levels
It is a complex and challenging area. Mistakes will be made but it’s about identifying where a mistake is made.
March Management:
Only one march banned in 13 years; vast majority have restrictions (timing, location, routes, technology use)
Continuous liaison with organisers before and during events; commanders can impose real-time restrictions
Balancing Article 10 rights with public safety, crime prevention, and everyday life continuity
London Resilience
London Resilience is a partnership between many parts of emergency planning e.g. fire, ambulance, police, local authority, faith, voluntary sector etc
Supporting Faith and Belief Sector Panel, London Communities Emergencies Partnership, and New Equalities Partnership as coordination mechanisms
Seeking better understanding and integration of Jewish volunteer agencies (Shomrim, Hatzola) in response networks
Resource: Shared Endeavor Fund (MOPAC counter-extremism program) funds school programs and active bystander training
Opportunity: Equalities Partnership which will be working towards centring the perspectives and needs of marginalised groups in London in resilience efforts and emergency preparedness and response, alongside LBFN and LCEP. you can join here: https://equalitiespartnership.org/participate
London Boroughs Faiths Network 