Two Jewish men were stabbed in broad daylight in Golders Green, a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood in north London, on Wednesday morning in what police have declared a terrorist incident. The victims — Shlomi Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 — were attacked separately along Golders Green Road and are both in hospital in a stable condition. A 45-year-old British man, born in Somalia, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder after being subdued with a Taser by police officers responding to the attack. Footage from body-worn cameras showed the suspect advancing on officers while still holding a knife, prompting fears he may also have been carrying an explosive device.
CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows the suspect first attacking one man outside a synagogue and chasing him along the pavement, then approaching a bus stop ten minutes later and repeatedly stabbing a second victim before pushing him into the road. Members of Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish neighbourhood watch group, helped detain the suspect alongside officers before he was tasered and taken to hospital, then transferred to a police station in custody. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley confirmed the suspect had a history of serious violence and mental health issues, and that investigators were working to establish whether the victims were deliberately targeted because they are Jewish. Counter-terrorism police have since confirmed the suspect was referred to Prevent — the British government's deradicalisation programme — in 2020, but that his case was closed within six weeks.
The attack has been claimed on Telegram by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (Hayi), a relatively new Islamist organisation with reported links to Iran that has also claimed responsibility for a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in Britain and elsewhere in Europe in recent weeks. Authorities say they are examining this claim. The incident follows a string of attacks on the British Jewish community: in March, four ambulances belonging to Hatzola — a Jewish volunteer emergency service — were set on fire in Golders Green; firebombs were thrown at synagogues in north-west London in April; and in October 2025, two Jewish men were killed and three others seriously injured in a combined vehicle and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited a Hatzola community centre in Golders Green on Thursday, called the attack "completely appalling" and said it was "not a one-off", adding that "an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on all of us." The government announced £25 million in additional funding to strengthen policing and security around Jewish communities, synagogues, schools and community centres. Britain's Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said words were no longer sufficient and called for decisive action, while the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, described the threat facing British Jews as the gravest national security emergency since the 2017 terror attacks. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called antisemitism "abhorrent and unacceptable" and said the Jewish community had "every right" to live safely. Both Hall and Police Commissioner Rowley pointed to the role of widespread public antisemitism — including at protests and on university campuses — in radicalising individuals toward violence.
The attack has sharpened an already intense debate in Britain about the safety of its Jewish community and the adequacy of official responses. The Chief Rabbi and other community leaders say British Jews are at a breaking point, with some reportedly considering leaving the country. The government adviser on antisemitism warned that Jews who are visibly identifiable as such can no longer feel safe on the streets. For many in Golders Green, the attack crystallised a broader anxiety — not only about physical security, but about whether the political and social climate that nurtures antisemitic violence is being addressed with sufficient urgency.