Members of the Jewish community have said they were fearful of anti-semitic abuse escalating after a terror attack on a Parisian kosher supermarket.

The comments came today at meeting held today by Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England, with Rabbi Zvi Portnoy, of Loughton Synagogue in Borders Lane, who has recently increased security at the synagogue, including locking doors during services.

The congregation said in recent years they had excrement left outside their doors and the Rabbi experienced regular abuse as he walked into synagogue, something which he accepted as “the way of the world”.

One member told the MEP cars had driven in puddles over her and men inside shouting "Y--" as she went to the synagogue.

Another described herself as a “closet Jew” for fear of having people look down on her at work and refused to be photographed.

Richard Howitt, who is a member of the working group against extremism, said he wanted to reassure the synagogue that police would be stepping up protection for future religious celebrations.

Issues of national security, privacy, armed police, safety at Jewish Schools and the rise of Islamic extremism were also discussed.

The discussions moved Mr Howitt to say that British Intelligence services were doing a “very good job” at pre-empting any terrorist attacks before they happen.

Richard Howitt said after the meeting that he noted people at the meeing were more fearful of domestic attacks from far right parties, such as the BNP or EDL, than Islamic extremists.

He said: “We can never say never to an attack because we live in an open society.

“There will always be a hole in the net and you are never going to solve extremism but education is one way to tackle it.

“I would ask the Essex County Council and indeed every school in Europe, to teach the history of the Holocaust and visit synagogues.”

Pauline Whitzenfeld, a regular at the synagogue, said she was “fearful of what the future holds” for her children and grandchildren as Jews.

She said: “The community is so dislocated there aren’t enough events that bring us all together.

“We have to protect ourselves and lock ourselves in whilst we worship, it’s absolutely shocking.

“The Paris attacks exacerbated things but these feelings have been building up for a long time.

 The EDL have been prolific in Debden over the years.

“I don’t believe Muslims are to be tarred in the same brush for the attacks.

 "I think we should all stand up and say these attacks are ‘bloody wrong’.

“We are in the same boat with Muslims. We have to apologise for the actions of the Israeli government in the middle-east, even if we agree with them or not.”