Police in the United Kingdom are officially treating the stabbing of two Jewish men in the north London suburb of Golders Green on Wednesday as a “terrorist incident” and authorities are investigating “whether the attack was deliberately targeted at the Jewish community.”
Two people were stabbed on the street in the traditionally Jewish area, but were later reported to be in stable condition in hospital.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing, said “highly specialized teams of officers” were working to establish “exactly what happened, including working with UK security services, “to ensure we have the full intelligence picture.”
Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said it was “yet another horrific act of violence against our Jewish communities.”
King Charles and Prime Minister Starmer: ‘Deeply concerned’
Asked about the incident in Parliament amid Wednesday’s regular Prime Minister’s Questions session, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “deeply worrying” and told MPs he was made aware of the incident just before the session.
“There is now a police investigation underway, and I think we all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these crimes, as we have seen so many recently.”
Speaking during his state visit to the United States, King Charles III also said he was “deeply concerned”.
A number of suspected anti-Semitic crimes have occurred in the north London area, which has a large Jewish population, in recent weeks amid the outbreak of war on Iran. These include an attempt to set fire to a synagogue and another to target an ambulance.
No one was injured in the arson incidents, all of which occurred within a few kilometers of each other. Several people, ranging from teenagers to people over 40, have been arrested and charged.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that “London’s Jewish community has been the target of a series of shocking anti-Semitic attacks” and that “there should be absolutely no place for anti-Semitism in society.”
Israel: ‘Britain must take decisive and immediate action’
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged the British government to take swift action against anti-Semitism, which it claims is spreading across Britain.
“Following attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions, community ambulances and now the targeting of Jews in Golders Green, the UK government can no longer claim it is under control,” the ministry wrote on social media.
“Enough words. Britain must take decisive and immediate action,” it said.
British Jewish community
Britain’s Jewish community is long established, but small as a percentage of the total UK population, numbering around 300,000.
The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicentres, home to kosher restaurants, several Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as sizable Asian and Middle Eastern communities.
Edited by: Alex Berry