Man arrested after two Jewish men stabbed in ‘appalling’ Golders Green attack

Suspect was Tasered after he allegedly tried to stab police officers, as Sir Keir Starmer condemns ‘utterly appalling’ attack
A terrorist incident has been declared after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London.

A 76-year-old and a 34-year-old suffered knife wounds and have been taken to hospital, after they were attacked at around 11.16am on Highfield Avenue.

A 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was Tasered after he allegedly tried to stab police officers.

Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim said a man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public”.

During a press conference, Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley was heckled with chants of “resign” and “shame on you”, while Sir Keir Starmer has called an emergency Cobra meeting.

The prime minister condemned the “utterly appalling” attack and vowed that “those responsible will be brought to justice”.

Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST) said it was working closely with the police and urged anyone with information to contact the police, Shomrim and CST immediately.

The incident took place not far from where four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire in an antisemitic hate crime on Highfield Road in April.

There has been a string of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in north London.

Chief rabbi names two victims of stabbing
The chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has appeared to name the victims in today's attack as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila.

"Please join me in praying for a swift and complete recovery for the victims of today's attack," he said on social media.

Visibly Jewish people not safe on UK streets, chief rabbi says
The chief rabbi has said that people who are “visibly Jewish” are no longer safe in the UK.

Sir Ephraim Mervis told BBC News: "I'm sad to say that today's event proves that if you are visibly Jewish you're not safe, and far more needs to be done.

He added: "It's a sustained effort to terrorise the Jewish community, which will not succeed, because we're a strong and resilient community.

"We face these kind of attacks and these incidents with great fortitude.

However, this cannot be allowed to continue."
He stressed more needed to be done to tackle the causes of antisemitism.

A timeline of recent attacks on the UK’s Jewish community
The Commonwealth’s Chief Rabbi and Israel’s foreign ministry are calling for action after a series of incidents targeting the Jewish community in the UK.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis said “words of condemnation are no longer sufficient” after two Jewish men were stabbed in London’s Golders Green on Wednesday.

The Israeli foreign ministry, meanwhile, said the recent spate of attacks on Jewish areas means “the UK Government can no longer claim this is under control”.

Here is a look at the attacks on Jewish sites in the UK in the past month:
A timeline of recent attacks on UK’s Jewish community as man arrested over stabbing
Watch: Sadiq Khan 'angry and appalled' by Golders Green terrorist incident
Witness says suspect was 'walking with a knife'
A pizza shop worker on Golders Green Road said he helped the elderly stab victim after he saw him bleeding from his neck.

Tariq Aziz, who works at pizza takeaway shop Slice, said: “He came to our shop and then I gave him a tissue and helped him, and then police came suddenly and arrested the guy.”
He said the suspect “wasn’t running away” after the attack and that when the police came, he pointed out the suspect as he was “just walking down there with a knife”.

Pictured: CCTV appears to show suspect moments before attack
Disturbing footage posted online appears to show a man waiting at a bus stop putting on a kippah before an attacker lunges at him.

Another clip shows two police officers facing down the knife man in the middle of the road, before using a Taser and kicking him repeatedly in the head.

Rally protesting antisemitic attacks organised outside Downing Street
The Campaign Against Antisemitism says it is calling for a "national emergency" rally outside Downing Street tomorrow evening at 7pm.

A spokesperson said: "We need to dispense with the political platitudes.

Prime minister, what is your plan?

"Six months ago we stood outside Downing Street after the fatal terrorist attack [at] Heaton Park Synagogue.

Things have only got worse.

More Jews attacked.

Synagogues burned.

More lives at risk.

What action is the government taking?"
Jewish communities are 'understandably angry', Met Police chief says
In response to questions about whether the Jewish community was safe and could trust the Met to protect them, Sir Mark Rowley said he understood they were afraid.

He said: “This is an awful attack today.

It is completely understandable why Jewish Londoners feel afraid.

“That’s why we’re putting so much extra policing into these events.

And we’re going to be looking at what more we can do in forthcoming weeks.

“I’ve had so many thanks from Jewish communities over the last few weeks for all the extra policing that’s done, people recognise that officers are going above and beyond to protect them.

“Such as the officers today who put their lives on the line, taking on somebody they believed was carrying an explosive device.”
Asked directly if Jews were safe, he said: “I can never give an absolute assurance.

We’re doing everything we can do to protect people in difficult times, and I’m calling on others to stand out and challenge the antisemitic licensing, which is going on.”
And he added: “Jewish communities are understandably angry.

There’s been too many attacks.

The response of our officers has been extraordinary.

We’re doing everything we can do with the resources available, and I’ll be discussing with government in the forthcoming weeks what more they can do to help us and help the community.”
Police patrols to increase in Manchester
Police patrols will increase in Manchester in response to Wednesday’s stabbing in north London, mayor Andy Burnham has said.

In a post on social media, he said the city was "horrified by the shocking attack in Golders Green".

"Greater Manchester Police have assured us that they will be stepping up patrols, and together with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service they will continue working with Jewish communities here to provide security and reassurance," he said.

In October last year, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed in an attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester in the first fatal antisemitic terror attack in the UK since 1984.