Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to Golders Green on Thursday to demonstrate solidarity with Britain’s Jewish community after two men were stabbed outside a synagogue. Roughly a hundred protesters met him with signs reading “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer.”

The reception captured the raw state of a country that, within hours, would raise its official terrorism threat level to “severe” — the second-highest tier on a five-point scale, meaning intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely within six months.

The decision, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, did not stem solely from Wednesday’s knife attack. It reflected an accumulation of violence — arson attacks on synagogues, an online ecosystem of threats claimed in the name of shadowy groups, and a Jewish community of roughly 300,000 people that has watched antisemitic incidents soar since October 2023, according to the Community Security Trust.

Eight Minutes in Golders Green

Shloime Rand, 34, was walking down a Golders Green street after morning prayers at Hagers Shul synagogue on Wednesday when a man approached and stabbed him in the chest. “I managed to jump back, so thank God he didn’t manage to take my life,” Rand told the BBC from his hospital bed. He described his survival as “a very big miracle.”

Minutes later, the same attacker struck Moshe Shine, a 76-year-old described by friends as a quiet, scholarly man. Shine suffered more serious injuries, though Rabbi Levi Schapiro of the Jewish Community Council, who visited both men in hospital, said doctors were “optimistic” about a full recovery. Both remain in stable condition.

Police arrested 45-year-old Essa Suleiman at the scene after using a Taser. According to the BBC, Suleiman is a British citizen born in Somalia who came to the UK lawfully as a child. Police described him as having “a history of serious violence and mental health issues.” He had been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme in 2020 — the referral was closed the same year, for reasons that have not been disclosed.

The attack was declared a terrorist incident.

A Pattern of Escalation

The Golders Green stabbings did not emerge from a vacuum. Since the start of the Iran war on February 28, synagogues and Jewish sites in London have been subjected to a string of arson attacks. Police say 28 people have been arrested over those incidents; a handful have been charged and one teenager has been convicted after pleading guilty.

An online entity calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia — the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right — has claimed responsibility for several of those attacks, as well as for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands. The same name appeared in an online claim for Wednesday’s stabbing. Mahmood said authorities were investigating whether that claim was credible or “opportunistic.” Security experts, according to NPR, have cautioned that the name may be a flag of convenience rather than a coherent organization.

The broader backdrop is sobering. Israel’s government has described the group as having suspected links to an Iranian proxy. Britain’s MI5 says it disrupted more than 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots in the year ending in October. The threat level adjustment also cited increased danger from both Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorism within the UK.

Last October, an attacker drove a car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, fatally stabbing one person. Another person died after being inadvertently shot by police.

A Government Caught Between Anger and Policy

Starmer has pledged a “swift and visible” criminal justice response, fast-tracked powers to target proxy groups, and announced an additional £25 million for security around synagogues, schools, and community centers — bringing the total commitment this year to £58 million.

For some in Golders Green, it was too little. Rand himself told the BBC that government statements were “not enough” and that antisemitism “can no longer be ignored by the government.” He said friends were now afraid to walk the streets.

The political debate has grown increasingly strained. Jonathan Hall, the government’s former reviewer of terrorism legislation, has called for a temporary ban on pro-Palestinian marches, arguing they have helped “incubate” antisemitism. Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has backed the call, saying the marches “are used as a cover for violence and intimidation against Jews.” The government has not supported a ban, though Starmer said those chanting “globalize the intifada” — seen by some as a call for attacks on Jews — should be prosecuted.

Mahmood called antisemitism an “emergency” and described it as the top security issue she faces. For Britain’s Jewish community, the question is whether that word translates into something more concrete than funding announcements — and whether it comes in time.

Sources