King Charles III said on Wednesday that the British government would take immediate action to combat antisemitism in the country.
“My government will take urgent action to tackle antisemitism and ensure all communities feel safe," King Charles said in a speech at the ceremonial opening of parliament.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the remarks. Adrian Cohen, Acting President of the Board of Deputies, said in a statement, “We welcome the government's expression of commitment to take steps to tackle antisemitism included in the King's speech, which reflects the ongoing seriousness and urgency of the situation."
“We also welcome the confirmation that the government will introduce legislation to tackle the growing threat from foreign state entities and their proxies, in line with recommendations made by the Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation Jonathan Hall KC. We call on the government to enact these powers without further delay and use them as quickly as possible to proscribe Iranian-backed threats including the IRGC," added Cohen.
“We outlined other key priorities to tackle threats to our community in our recent joint document Protect, Prosecute, and Partner, and will continue to push for swift and decisive government action on all these priorities, including through legislation where needed."
The King’s speech came amid a sharp rise in antisemitism in the UK, particularly in London. These incidents include the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green two weeks ago. That assault prompted the United Kingdom to raise its national terrorism threat level from "substantial" to "severe" for the first time in over four years.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that a ninth individual has been taken into custody in connection with the devastating arson attack on Jewish community ambulances in North-West London.
The core of the investigation centers on an incident in the early hours of March 23 in Golders Green, where four emergency vehicles belonging to the Hatzolah medical charity were set on fire.
Beyond the Hatzolah case, the Counter Terrorism unit is investigating arson attempts at two North London synagogues and a Jewish-owned business. In a separate development, a 19-year-old man was recently arrested in Portsmouth regarding an attempted arson at the Finchley Reform Synagogue. He has been released on bail until July.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested last Thursday in London after threatening Jewish passengers on a city bus with antisemitic slurs and violent threats, according to the Shomrim organization in London.
Earlier this week, a 34-year-old man admitted to a series of violent and religiously motivated attacks against Jewish individuals in North London. The man, a resident of Hornchurch in East London, appeared before the Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he entered a guilty plea for three distinct religiously aggravated offenses.
The United Kingdom had in 2025 the highest per capita rate of real-life antisemitic assaults of any country with a large Jewish community, according to a report published last month by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, recording 121 violent antisemitic incidents.
The total number of antisemitic incidents recorded in the United Kingdom last year reached 3,700 cases in 2025, constituting a slight increase over the previous year and the second-highest tally on record, the Community Security Trust (CST) watchdog group said in a report this year.