UK prime minister urges unity against antisemitism after latest attack

Britain has moved to bolster protection for Jewish communities after a fresh attack in north London sharpened fears over antisemitism and security, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer promising immediate support and urging the country to stand together.

Under fire from British Jews who say ministers have too often failed to keep them safe, Mr Starmer said funding for synagogues and other community sites would be increased at once, while stressing that the response cannot rest on security measures alone and that the country must “come together” to “fight antisemitism”.

The prime minister also blamed Iran for seeking “to harm British Jews” after Wednesday’s latest assault on the community, in which two Jewish men were stabbed in north London.

His remarks came after repeated warnings from officials that hostile states are trying to use proxies to carry out attacks on British soil, following a series of arson incidents targeting Jewish sites in the capital.

“This government will do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out,” he added.

“We will strengthen our security and protect our Jewish community. But I also call on everyone decent in this country to open their eyes to Jewish pain, Jewish suffering and Jewish fear.”

The developments came as the Home Office said the UK’s terrorism threat level had been raised to “severe”, the second-highest setting in the country’s five-tier system.

“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has today… raised the UK National Threat Level from substantial, meaning an attack is likely, to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely in the next six months,” it said.

JTAC, which is based within Britain’s security services, said the level had stood at substantial since February 2022 but was upgraded after Wednesday’s attack.

Security fears

The stabbings happened in broad daylight in Golders Green, a part of north London with a sizeable Jewish population.

The two victims, aged 76 and 34, were taken to hospital and were in a stable condition.

A 45-year-old man, a British national born in Somalia who arrived in the UK as a child, remains in custody after the attack.

The incident comes nearly seven months after a deadly assault at a synagogue in Manchester in which two people were killed, and after the recent run of arson attacks.

Monitoring organisations say antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have risen sharply in Britain, especially since the war between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza.

Earlier, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said an additional £25 million would be used to strengthen protective security at Jewish synagogues, schools, places of worship and community centres.

But Rabbi Ben Kurzer, of Golders Green Synagogue, said the government needed to go further.

“There is definitely not a significant police presence on a regular basis in these areas,” he told BBC Radio.”We have little bits here and there, but most of the security that we’re seeing is private.”

A little-known group thought to be linked to Iran, and which has claimed previous arson attacks and others elsewhere in Europe, said one of its “lone wolves” carried out the stabbings, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) – meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand – made the unverified claim in a video posted online, SITE said.

Ms Mahmood said the government would accelerate legislation to address “a gap in the law when it comes to organisations that may be linked to hostile states” and their proxies.

Police Commissioner Mark Rowley walks with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis at the scene of the stabbing

‘Suffer’

Mr Starmer also said ministers were reviewing what further action might be needed to address contentious pro-Palestinian protests, which critics argue have become a breeding ground for antisemitism.

He said that if demonstrators were marching “alongside people who say ‘globalise the intifada’, you are calling for terrorism against Jews”.

Max Radford, 53, who lives in Golders Green, said Wednesday’s attack was “exactly what the intifada looks like”.

“They’ve been chanting it on the streets of London, Manchester, Birmingham,” he told AFP. “And now intifada is on our street, that’s what we have to suffer.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged people in the capital to “remain calm and vigilant” after the national terrorism threat level was increased.

He said: “I want to reassure all Londoners and visitors that we are doing everything possible to protect our city and keep all of our communities safe.

“I would urge all Londoners and visitors to remain calm and vigilant, and to report anything suspicious to the police.

“There will be additional police officers on London’s streets over the coming days – including additional armed officers – they are there to help our police service to keep us all safe.”

He added: “Those who seek to harm and divide us through barbaric acts of terrorism will never succeed. We will never be cowed by terrorism.”

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Last year, the UK government said it would hand police broader powers to limit demonstrations by taking account of the “cumulative impact” of repeated protests.

Organisers and participants in the marches say their aim is to highlight Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and that the demonstrations are not directed at the Jewish community.

Jonathan Hall, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said on Wednesday that it was impossible for such marches not to “incubate” antisemitism.

He called the recent attacks on Jews a “massive national security emergency” and said there should be a “moratorium” on pro-Palestinian marches.

Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, went to the scene of the Golders Green attack and accused the authorities of being too “soft” on “discriminatory” chants.