NEW YORK (VINnews) — The stabbing of two Jewish men in the London neighborhood of Golders Green has deepened anxiety among British Jews already facing a surge in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, a senior representative of the community told Ynet on Thursday.

Dr. Toby Greene, director of public affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called Wednesday’s attack “an appalling incident” and said the victims were “just going about their daily lives” in a heavily Jewish area of North London.

“Two members of the Jewish community attacked, just going about their daily lives, in a Jewish area of North London, visibly Jewish individuals, and just attacked in the street,” Greene told the Ynet news site in an interview. “It’s obviously a shocking event.”

According to Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighborhood patrol group, a man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish passersby. Shomrim said its members detained the suspect until police arrived. Police deployed a taser and arrested him. The two victims, Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, were treated by Hatzoloh medics. Initially they were reported to be in serious condition, but are now described as in stable condition.

Greene said the attack was “not terribly surprising in the current climate here in the UK,” citing what he described as arson attacks at Jewish premises around London and a fatal stabbing attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

“It’s another shocking event, and one that’s a source of great anxiety for the Jewish community,” he said.

Greene said British Jews have faced “a rising climate of antisemitism in the UK since October 7,” but stressed that the community remained deeply rooted and determined.
“The community is also very resilient, very determined,” he said. “It’s a very long-standing community here in the UK, more than 350 years, and we’re determined as a community not to be intimidated, not to have our proud Jewish lives here diminished or forced behind walls or barriers.”

He said the government and police had shown commitment to combating antisemitism, but added that Jewish leaders want faster and stronger action. “There is determination on the part of the government to tackle this problem, and significant commitment of the police, but we never feel it’s enough,” Greene said. “There are many measures and steps that we would like to see taken or like to see taken quicker to help tackle this problem.”

Greene said Jewish leaders were especially concerned about antisemitic hate speech, which he said too often goes unpunished. “We have concerns about the prevalence of antisemitic hate speech in different areas,” he said. “In too many cases we’ve seen that kind of hate speech go unpunished, and we think that there is a clear link between the rise of hate speech that goes undeterred and unpunished and violent incidents that we’ve seen against our community.”

He also renewed calls for Britain to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s powerful military and security force, as a terrorist organization. “That’s a measure that we believe we will see in the coming months, but it has taken a long time for the government to put the legal measures in place to make that possible,” Greene said. “We do see many positive actions from the government, and we do think they are determined to tackle this problem, but we want to see faster action and more determined action in certain areas.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the attack that he had chaired an emergency meeting and would bring together criminal justice agencies to ensure swift and effective justice. Greene said the move reflected the seriousness with which the government views the threat.

“I think that reflects the seriousness with which the prime minister and the government in general treats this issue,” he said. “We see that in the reaction from a very wide swathe of political leaders in this country, both locally in London and at a national level, a very widespread sense of shock and belief that this is an intolerable situation and cannot be allowed to continue.”

But Greene said words were not enough. “What we’re looking for from the perspective of the Jewish community is for words to be met with clear action,” he said. “What we need to do is make it clear that antisemitism will have terrible consequences for antisemites, more than it will have consequences for Jews.”

Asked whether more British Jews were considering immigrating to Israel, Greene said the community’s response was varied. “There are some voices like that,” he said. “There is also great determination across the community to reinforce and strengthen Jewish life here in the UK.”

He noted that the movement of Jews between Israel and Britain was not one-way. “We also know, of course, there are Israelis at the moment,  quite a large number have come to live in London and more that would like to do so,” he said. “So it’s a complicated situation for Jews, both in Israel and in the diaspora, and so we have many different reactions.”

Greene said Jewish communal organizations were expanding their role in protecting the community, but that responsibility also rests with authorities.

He pointed to Shomrim, which operates mainly in charedi areas, and the Community Security Trust, known as CST, which protects Jewish institutions and works closely with police and the government.

“We have very strong communal institutions here in the UK,” Greene said. “We’re fortunate in that respect.” But he said those institutions need additional support. “The community gets support from government to fund its own security. We need more of that,” he said. “We also need very clear policing and visible policing on the streets, particularly in areas where Jews live.”

Police resources, he said, remain limited. “Jewish communal organizations are stepping up to try and maximize their ability to protect the community whilst calling on the government authorities to do the same,” he said.

Greene said he had not dramatically changed his own daily routine, but acknowledged that the attack had affected even him. “I’ll get up this morning and go to my work,” he said. “I work in a building that houses a couple of Jewish communal institutions, but I’ll be honest, as I’m going into my place of work, which people may know as an office that hosts Jewish organizations, I may well be looking over my shoulder.”

He said he was in Golders Green on Wednesday for an event at a synagogue. The event went ahead as planned, but security was heavy. “I admit as I was walking from Golders Green station to the venue, yes, I was looking over my shoulder,” he said. “It’s a natural reaction.”

For Jews who are more visibly identifiable, he said, the fear is sharper. “For Jews who look more visibly Jewish than I do, I think that perception, yeah, absolutely,” Greene said. “Or perhaps Jews that would normally go with a visible Magen David, that reaction or that sense of concern would be more acute.”