Two people stabbed in Golders Green, London, attack, Jewish security group says

LONDON — Metropolitan Police say they have arrested a 45-year-old man in connection with a stabbing attack that injured two Jewish people in London, which they called a “terrorist incident.”

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

“A 45-year-old man, who is a British national, born in Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder,” Metropolitan Police said in a statement. “He was initially taken to hospital but has since been discharged and has been taken to a London police station where he remains in police custody.”

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor told reporters that counterterrorism officers are investigating and working to establish “whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London,” while Commissioner Mark Rowley called it an “attack on British Jews.”

Britain’s prime minister earlier described the incident in the North London suburb of Golders Green as an “antisemitic attack.” The neighborhood, which has a large Jewish population, has been the scene of a number of antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.

Police said two men, 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds. Both were taken to the hospital and were stable, police said. Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, identified the victims as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila.

Rowley said the suspect “has a history of serious violence and mental health issues” and that he was stunned and tackled by officers who feared he was carrying an explosive device after he refused to show his hands.

A video police released shows two police officers confronting the suspect and using a stun gun before they pull a knife out of one hand.

Rowley noted a rise in antisemitic incidents, adding that “legitimate debate about international affairs should never be allowed to legitimize antisemitism or violence against British Jews.”

He said that “some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organizations and hostile states,” adding: “Now is the time to ask some difficult questions: Why don’t we see more condemnation of the attacks we’ve seen in recent weeks?”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the attack was antisemitic and “utterly appalling,” adding: “Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”

He promised more funding to provide “the level of protection that is needed” and said the government would “take measures to deal with malign state actors.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also condemned the attack and promised “high-visibility patrols in the area.”

There has been growing dismay and anger among Jewish Britons after a series of incidents targeting the community.

“Words of condemnation are no longer sufficient,” Mirvis, the chief rabbi, said on X. “This must be a moment that demands meaningful action from every institution, every leader, every decent person in our country.”

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told NBC News’ British broadcasting partner, Sky News, that antisemites are seeking “to raise the price of being Jewish.”

“We’ve been pretty shocked about how mute much of society has been over the past month,” he said, also noting attacks on Iranian opposition figures in the U.K.

“It’s not just our community that is under attack; it is our country which is under attack,” he added.

The attack comes just weeks after an arson attack on several ambulances in the area — home to several synagogues and dozens of Jewish schools and restaurants — which Starmer condemned as a “deeply shocking antisemitic” assault.

A separate suspected arson attack was reported in the area Monday.

Shomrim, a Jewish neighborhood patrol group, said a male suspect armed with a knife had been seen running along Golders Green Road on Wednesday, “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public.”

The patrol group said two victims were stabbed and were treated by Hatzola, a volunteer emergency medical service that operates in the area.

About 15,000 people live in Golders Green, half of them Jewish, according to 2021 census data.

The attack on ambulances belonging to Hatzola in late March sent shock waves through the community.

Three men and a teenager have been charged. They were remanded in custody last week, with a plea hearing set for August.

On Monday, a new suspected arson attack was also reported at a memorial wall in the Golders Green area, the Metropolitan Police said.

BBC News said that the wall had depicted Iranians killed protesting the country’s regime and that it had been situated near a Jewish center. A section of the wall also commemorated those killed in the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, it said.

Police said that counterterrorism officers were leading an investigation of that incident but it was not yet being treated as a terrorism incident.

“We recognise that this incident will heighten concerns in the Golders Green area, where residents have already faced a series of attacks,” Williams said in a statement Monday.

He said police had stepped up efforts to “reassure communities,” including with armed police patrols, since the arson attack last month.

The number of antisemitic incidents reported in the United Kingdom has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in late 2023, including repeated attacks on synagogues.

The Community Security Trust, a British charity that works to protect the country’s Jewish population, recorded 3,700 incidents last year alone, compared with 1,662 in 2022.