“Antisemitism is an old, old hatred,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “History shows that the roots are deep and if you turn away, it grows back.”
His remarks were made Thursday in a press conference following the stabbing of two Jewish men, Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, in London’s heavily Jewish-populated neighborhood, Golders Green. Both men are in stable condition.
“As a mother, I’m pretty horrified that these things could happen on the streets of London, in an innocent community where we try our best not to hurt anyone,” Rand’s mother told the BBC. “Shloime was walking on the street minding his own business. I was able to see him yesterday. Thank God, he was conscious the whole time. We hope he will be home before Shabbat.”
The believed terrorist attacker, an unnamed 45-year-old Somali immigrant, “has a history of serious violence and mental health issues,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement.
The commissioner said that British Jews are facing threats that are unacceptable and have been allowed to go on for too long.
“Now is the time to ask some difficult questions,” Rowley continued. “Why are we not seeing more condemnation of these attacks we have seen in recent weeks? Where are the voices against hate? Where is the solidarity with fellow Londoners who are being targeted simply for who they are?”
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which monitors the country’s terrorism threat, increased the status from “substantial” to “severe,” following the recent stabbing, meaning an attack is highly likely.
To combat the threat, Starmer said the British government would be allocating 25 million pounds, about $34 million, to combat antisemitic attacks and “stamp the hatred out.” The funds will go towards increased police patrol around synagogues, schools and community centers.
Starmer was met with pushback from the Golders Green community on Thursday morning, with protesters holding signs that said “Keir Starmer, Jew Harmer.” Sophia Ziff, a British Jew who said she leans left politically, told the BBC she doesn’t know what to do.
“I don’t know if I should be reconsidering where in the world I should go, because I don’t feel safe as a British Jew. I don’t feel safe. I do not feel supported.” She added that she was disappointed by Starmer, “I just feel like all the platitudes are like ‘thoughts and prayers’ and ‘so sorry’ and ‘horrific’ but what are you actually doing?”
This is not the first antisemitic attack the Golders Green community has lived with recently. Just last month, four ambulances were deliberately set on fire in the middle of the night outside a synagogue.
More broadly, a series of attacks have targeted the Jewish community globally since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel killed more than 1,200 men, women and children.
Starmer was later asked in Thursday’s press conference, following his visit to Golders Green, if he could honestly say he’s done everything he could to protect the Jewish community.
“I absolutely understand the high levels of anxiety and concern that there are,” he said, noting the recent addition of funding they are putting towards security. He also said law enforcement would be further looking into protests, “particularly in relation to chants, to banners and the repeated nature of protests.”
“But we do also need to ensure that this is something the whole country is prepared to call out and to see and to fight against,” he added.