At least two people have been stabbed in the UK’s Golders Green, located in North London, on Wednesday (local time), CNN reported, citing a local Jewish neighbourhood watch group.
A man has reportedly been detained, and several emergency service vehicles, including an ambulance and a police helicopter, arrived at the scene.
Another antisemitic attack in London
According to Shomrim, the local security group, the suspect was seen running along Golders Green Road and was armed with a knife. He was attempting to stab Jewish members of the public, the group noted, adding that it responded immediately.
Additionally, the police cordoned off a large part of the road. Video circulating on showed a man being detained by police officials, as well as two men in plain clothes.
UK leaders react to Golders Green attack
Responding to the attack, UK Prime Minister called the incident “deeply concerning” in Parliament after news broke, adding that an investigation was now underway and the UK needs to be “absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the likes of which we’ve seen too much recently,” NBC reported.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, also reacted to the attack that occurred on Wednesday. In a post on X, he wrote, “There has been an appalling attack on two Jewish Londoners in Golders Green. The police have made an arrest, and I’d like to thank all the emergency services and heroic volunteers from Hatzola and Shomrim London in the area for their swift response to this horrific incident.”
Khan further said, “London’s Jewish community has been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks. There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society. The Met has stepped up high-visibility patrols in the area.”
Antisemitic attacks rise in London
The in London has recently been targeted by a series of antisemitic attacks. In March, arsonists set fire to four ambulances that belonged to a Jewish charity in north London’s Golders Green. Subsequently, four people were charged by the police.
Weeks later, a synagogue and the former premises of a Jewish charity, both in north London, were also attacked.
Earlier on Monday, the British police arrested a 37-year-old man for reportedly carrying out a series of attacks on Jewish-linked premises in northwest London, The Times of Israel reported.
The suspect was arrested “on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and has been taken to a London police station for questioning.” According to the statement, “The arrest is part of an ongoing CTP London investigation into a series of attacks on premises linked to the Jewish community in north west London, an attack on a Persian-language media organization, and the discovery of jars of a non-hazardous substance in Kensington Gardens.”
UK PM plans new powers to ban state-backed terror groups
According to a BBC report, the Starmer-led government is planning to bring in new anti-terror powers that would allow it to ban state threats like Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps () in the next parliamentary session.
This would allow the UK government to label these state-backed groups as terrorist organisations. The development comes as Labour MPs have urged the Starmer-led government to impose a ban on the IRGC after a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war in Iran broke out in late February.
An Islamist group suspected of having Iranian links, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, claimed responsibility for a recent attack on Jewish community ambulances in north London, along with other incidents in the UK and .
Iran is using criminal proxies in the UK
Reuters reported that officials have recently warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK.
That warning comes at a time when antisemitic attacks have been rising in Britain, since the October 2023 assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. The most severe antisemitic incident last year was the Manchester attack, which killed two Jewish worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
