The ConversationNo. 6 · Communities

Antisemitic terrorism is now driven both by lone actors and by an Iranian state-linked proxy campaign. The same campaign has named US and Israeli commercial interests as targets.

By TiNYg Editorial · 6 November 2026

The UK raised its national threat level to SEVERE on 30 April 2026. JTAC cited three drivers: Islamist terrorism, a steadily rising extreme right-wing threat, and an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions. The trigger was the stabbing of two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, in Golders Green the day before. It came seven months after two worshippers were killed at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Yom Kippur 2025, and four months after an Islamic State-inspired shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach killed 15 people.

A new kind of campaign

What distinguishes 2026 is the emergence of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI). Since 9 March, shortly after the start of the US war with Iran, HAYI has claimed at least 17 attacks across Europe, among them a synagogue explosion in Liège, a firebombing in Rotterdam, a device outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam, the arson of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, and the Golders Green stabbing. The UK government has sanctioned the group and says members of the IRGC Qods Force are almost certainly behind it. In June, 22 countries issued a joint statement accusing Iran of state-sponsored plots on their soil.

HAYI’s model mirrors Russia’s: criminal and amateur proxies, often young, recruited remotely. In Antwerp, two minors were arrested over a car arson. In Paris on 28 March, a 17-year-old allegedly tried to place an explosive device at Bank of America’s headquarters; French authorities suspect HAYI. In his October threat update, MI5’s Ken McCallum said Iranian activity had led to more than 50 UK arrests in a year, and warned of a shift towards harder targets such as military sites.

What Heaton Park teaches

The Heaton Park inquests have already surfaced hard lessons. One victim, Melvin Cravitz, was acting as the synagogue’s security guard and died of knife wounds trying to stop the attacker. The other, Adrian Daulby, was killed by a police round while holding the synagogue doors shut against the attacker. Greater Manchester Police has apologised for a missed opportunity to examine the attacker’s phones after an earlier arrest. On 12 October 2026 the Home Secretary announced a public inquiry, so that sensitive intelligence can be heard. Australia’s Royal Commission found in its interim report that authorities had underestimated Jewish community safety concerns before Bondi.

The professional view

Three lessons generalise beyond faith sites. First, door control and lockdown save lives, but whoever holds the door must be integrated into the police response plan, or they become part of the danger zone. Second, volunteer and community security (CST, Shomrim, church and mosque teams) are now front-line responders and deserve the same training and communications as paid staff. Third, the target set is wider than synagogues: HAYI has explicitly warned people away from American and Israeli interests, which includes offices, banks, brands and events.

What to do now

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