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King Charles has been made patron of a charity that protects Jewish communities in the wake of the firebomb attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in north London.
The Community Security Trust (CST), which provides protection to Jewish communities, said Charles’s acceptance of the position highlighted his support for the “fight against antisemitism”.
The Conservative peer Daniel Finkelstein announced the king’s new patronage at the start of the charity’s annual fundraising dinner on Monday evening.
It followed an arson attack on four ambulances owned by the Jewish charity Hatzola that had been parked near the Machzike Hadath synagogue in Golders Green.
Counter-terrorism police and the security services are investigating whether the firebombing was orchestrated by Iran. A group linked to Iran by the Israeli government has claimed responsibility for the attack online but its claim is yet to be verified.
The new role for the king is part of a regular review of royal patronages rather than being in direct response to the events in the early hours of Monday.
The king is also patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and he travelled to Poland last year to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.
CST said the king’s “commitment to promoting tolerance, inclusion and interfaith understanding aligns closely with CST’s mission to protect British Jews”.
The announcement was made at CST’s annual dinner on Monday night, which was attended by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner. Lt Col Johnny Thompson, the king’s senior equerry, attended on Charles’s behalf.
In a speech at the dinner, Mahmood said antisemitism was on the rise and that those behind the “warped attack” on the volunteer ambulance service would be “pursued and made to face the consequences of their vile actions”.
The government has said more than 200 extra police officers will be deployed to protect Jewish communities after the attack.
Counter-terrorism police and the security services are investigating the authenticity of claims of responsibility made by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI). The group, whose name translates as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, is said to have been behind similar attacks against Jewish institutions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece.
The Israeli government has claimed to have found links with the Iranian regime, including the IRGC.
There remains some doubt over its claims. HAYI said it attacked the Machzike Hadath synagogue in Golders Green rather than the ambulances and it has not provided video evidence of its people at work.
Police are seeking to trace three hooded men caught on CCTV who appear to have poured accelerant on to the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing. No arrests have yet been made. The government has said it will fund replacement vehicles.
