{"id":34712,"date":"2026-05-12T14:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/34712\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T14:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:14:12","slug":"suspect-in-uk-ex-synagogue-arson-was-in-touch-with-person-with-iraqi-number-prosecutors-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/34712\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspect in UK ex-synagogue arson was in touch with person with Iraqi number, prosecutors say"},"content":{"rendered":"

A British man charged over an arson attack<\/a> at a former synagogue in east London last week was in contact with someone using an Iraqi phone number shortly before the fire, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Moses Edwards, 45, from Wanstead, appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates\u2019 Court and was remanded in custody until a further hearing next month. He gave no indication of any plea.<\/p>\n

No further information about Edwards or his alleged contact was immediately available.<\/p>\n

A 52-year-old woman who was also arrested in connection to the incident has been released on bail until August.<\/p>\n

The fire at the former East London Central Synagogue was caused by wine bottles filled with an accelerant, which exploded, damaging the outside of the building, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

The building is in the process of being turned into a mosque and community center, after it was purchased by a Muslim organization earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe scene of an arson attack targeting a former synagogue on London\u2019s Nelson Street, May 5, 2026. (Shomrim.)<\/p>\n

The incident followed a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in previous weeks, with other targets including ambulances belonging to the Hatzola charity and two other synagogues.<\/p>\n

Arsonists have also targeted a Persian-language news outlet hostile to the Iranian regime, and a memorial wall bearing photos of Iranians killed by the Islamic Republic and Israelis killed by Hamas.<\/p>\n

Authorities have suggested Tehran may be behind some of the attacks, and a newly formed terror group \u2013 Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) \u2013 has claimed responsibility for some of them. The group is believed to have links to Iran.<\/p>\n

Police said last week that a total of 30 people had been arrested so far<\/a> in connection with recent arson attacks, eight of whom have been charged with various offenses, and one of whom \u2013 a 17-year-old male \u2013 has pleaded guilty to arson, in connection with an attack on Kenton Synagogue.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tWhich gorgeous bird do you prefer?\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

THIS MONTH ONLY: Join our reader support group for as little as $6\/month and receive an exclusive tote bag featuring one of Israel\u2019s native birds.<\/p>\n

Choose between the\u00a0Duchifat (orange), Israel’s national bird, or the Shaldag (blue), a beloved symbol of the Israeli landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a member of the Times of Israel Community,\u00a0you’ll also enjoy:<\/p>\n


\nAn ad-free experience of our site and podcasts.
\nExclusive access to award-winning films via DocuNation.
\nWeekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin ToI Community & claim my bag\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tCLAIM YOUR BAG\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A British man charged over an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London last week was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9127,3354,5022,27,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-34712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-antisemitism-in-the-uk","9":"tag-arson","10":"tag-british-jews","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116562025707020368","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}