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Golders Green Terror Stabbing
Police declared a stabbing in Golders Green, north London, a terrorist incident after two Jewish men were stabbed in Highfield Avenue, which runs off Golders Green Road, on Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police said officers responded at 11:16 BST after receiving reports of people being stabbed, and the BBC reported that the suspect was first seen on CCTV footage on Highfield Avenue timestamped at 11:15. The two victims were named locally as Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, and the BBC said they were in hospital with Rand discharged after treatment for serious stab wounds. A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and the BBC said he was a British national born in Somalia.
“The Metropolitan Police said its officers responded at 11:16 BST on Wednesday”
Officials, Jewish Anger
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers “confronted a man they believed to be” an explosive threat, while the BBC reported that officers repeatedly yelled “drop the knife” as they restrained the suspect and administered CPR. The BBC also quoted Rabbi Levi Schapiro, who wrote on X after visiting both men on Wednesday, saying Shine’s injuries were more serious and that doctors were “optimistic” he would make a full recovery. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as antisemitic and said, “Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” while CBC reported that Rowley faced shouts of “shame on you” and “resign” from bystanders at the scene. The BBC further reported that the suspect was referred to the government’s counter-terrorism Prevent programme in 2020, with the referral closed that same year.
Cobra, Protection, Fallout
The attack triggered a political response that included a Cobra meeting, with the Guardian reporting that Prime minister Keir Starmer called the meeting and said, “I’m holding a meeting tomorrow with the criminal justice agencies to make sure that we have effective and swift justice in these cases.” The Guardian also quoted Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi, saying “words of condemnation are now longer enough” and branding antisemitism “a hatred that we must face down together.” NBC News reported that Starmer 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.” In parallel, the BBC said the incident followed “a spate of arson attacks against Jewish property in London in recent weeks,” and the Guardian said the stabbing came after “a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in north London.”
“I’m holding a meeting tomorrow with the criminal justice agencies”