Golders Green stabbing latest: Rabbi warns ‘visibly Jewish’ people aren’t safe as attack victims are named – UK Times

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

The government will legislate to go after “proxies acting for hostile states”, the home secretary has said in the wake of the stabbing of two men in Golders Green on Wednesday.

It comes after Iran-linked terror group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), claimed responsibility for the attack on a Telegram channel.

Speaking to Sky News, Shabana Mahmood said: “The government asked Jonathan Hall KC, who is the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to look at our legal framework, because we already have powers to proscribe terrorist organisations, but we have a gap in the law when it comes to organisations that may be linked to hostile states, but also their proxies – so people that they might employ or pay to carry out attacks.”

She added: “Jonathan Hall has said that there is a gap in the law and that the government needs to legislate so that we can designate organisations that are linked to states and then effectively be able to go after those proxies in the same way that we would those individuals acting directly for a terrorist organisation.

“The government will be fast tracking that legislation in the coming weeks, so we will legislate in exactly the way that the independent reviewer has asked us and recommended that we do so, and then that will enable us to go after those organisations.”

One of the victims of the double stabbing in Golders Green has accused the government of “not doing its job” in protecting the Jewish community.

Speaking to ITV News, Shilome Rand, 34, said British Jews are “blaming the government” for “not doing anything” about a recent string of incidents targeting the Jewish community.

“People are really concerned, people are afraid, people are uncomfortable walking in the street, people are blaming obviously the government for not doing anything about what’s going on,” he said.

“It’s for the past few months really that our community is suffering from these type of attacks. And now it’s going on and trying to take people’s lives and it’s really terrible.”

On Thursday morning the government said an additional £25 million will be invested to increase police patrols and security to keep Jewish communities safe. It added legislation will be fast-tracked in the coming weeks to target those acting on behalf of state-sponsored groups.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Shabana Mahmood has said the police are investigating claims that the latest attack in Golders Green was linked to the Iranian regime, and refused to say whether she believes the attacker was acting alone.

Asked whether she believes the attacker was acting alone, the home secretary told Sky News: “The investigation into this specific attack is in its early stages, so I don’t think it will be appropriate for me to give a wider commentary about expectations at this stage.

“The full facts will be established and they will be made public at the appropriate moment, but you are right. We have seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks, and obviously those are also being investigated.

“Some of those have been claimed by groups that claim to be linked to the Iranian regime. In fact, those claims are also being investigated, as are those incidents.”

She added: “I think it’s right that the police have the space to get on with their with their job, and what I can assure your viewers and also the wider communities, is that each of those investigations is progressing at pace. Something like 28 arrests have already been made. The attacker for the incident yesterday has also been apprehended, and all of these individuals will face the full force of the law.”

Police have arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder following the double stabbing on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed the suspect is a British national who was born in Somalia.

He has a history of serious violence and mental health issues, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement at the scene.

The force also said that they are investigating an earlier “altercation” in Southwark which the suspect is believed to have been involved in. The incident left a person with minor injuries.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Shabana Mahmood has confirmed that the attacker in Golders Green was a 45-year-old man who was born in Somalia.

The home secretary told Sky News that he “came to this country as a child in the 1990s and is a British national”.

She added: “The incident is obviously being investigated at pace by the police, and we will make more information available as the investigation progresses.”

The victims of the double stabbing in Golders Green on Wednesday were targeted for being “visibly Jewish,” the UK’s chief Rabbi has said.

Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, Sir Ephraim Mirvis said Jewish communities are “not safe all the time” on British streets.

“On this very road, close to this very point, two people who are visibly Jewish were attacked because they were visibly Jewish,” he said.

“What that means is Jewish people are not safe all the time.”

He also urged what he called the “silent community” within the British public to condemn the violence and show support for British Jews.

Every Jewish building in the UK is now “effectively a compound”, the rabbi at Golders Green synagogue has said after two men were stabbed in an antisemitic terror attack on Wednesday.

It was the latest in a series of violent incidents targeting the Jewish community in north west London in recent weeks.

Rabbi Ben Kurzer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Any Jewish building now is effectively a compound – any synagogue, any school will have high fences, a lot of money put into security guards.”

He added: “I think that’s having to deal with the problem in a very unfortunate way. What we’d like to see is for the root cause to be dealt with. There are obviously backers of these individuals who are carrying out these attacks.”

Asked if British Jews were considering leaving the country as a result of the recent attacks, which have seen synagogues and Jewish community ambulances targeted, Rabbi Kurzer said: “I think people are still wanting to be able to continue to make their lives here.

“They are passionate about being British Jews… I think there is hope that can continue.

“But this is escalating in alarming ways and needs to stop.”

A police cordon surrounding the scene of a terror attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green has been lifted.

Parts of Highfield Avenue, Beverley Gardens and Golders Green Road in north-west London had been sealed off following the stabbings on Wednesday, but the roads were opened again by 7am on Thursday.

Traffic has resumed along Golders Green Road in both directions.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Shabana Mahmood has condemned the “horrifying attack” in Golders Green, thanking the volunteers and police officers who “ran towards danger” to help.

The home secretary told Sky News: “Let me first say that this was a horrifying attack which has been declared a terrorist incident by the police. And of course, my thoughts are with the victims who have been stabbed, their families and the wider community.

She added: “I do want to thank the volunteers and the police officers who ran towards danger and who were able to apprehend the attacker”.