UK: London stabbing being treated as 'terrorist incident'

Police in the United Kingdom are officially treating the stabbing of two Jewish men in the northern London suburb of Golders Green on Wednesday as a "terrorist incident" with officers investigating "whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community."

Two men were stabbed on the street in the traditionally Jewish area but were later said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing, said "highly specialized teams of officers" were working to establish exactly what happened, including working with UK security services "to ensure we have a full intelligence picture."

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said that it was "another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities."

King Charles and Prime Minister Starmer: 'Deeply concerning'

Asked about the incident in parliament amid Wednesday's regular Prime Minister's Questions session, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it "deeply concerning" and told lawmakers that he had been made aware of the incident just before the session.

"There is now a police investigation, and I think we all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offenses, the like of which we've seen too much recently."

King Charles III, speaking during his state visit to the United States, also said he was "deeply concerned."

There have been several suspected antisemitic crimes in the north London area, which has a large Jewish population, in recent weeks amid the outbreak of the war on Iran. They include  an arson attempt at a synagogue and another targeting ambulances. 

No one was injured in the arson incidents, which all happened within a few kilometers of each other. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that "London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks" and that "there must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society."

Israel: 'UK must act decisively and urgently'

Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Ministry urged the British government to take swift action against antisemitism which it claimed was "festering" across the UK.

"After attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions, community ambulances and now Jews targeted in Golders Green, the UK government can no longer claim this is under control," the ministry wrote on social media.

"Enough words. The UK must act decisively and urgently," it added.

The UK's Jewish community

Britain's Jewish community is long-established but tiny as a percentage of the overall UK population, numbering about 300,000.

The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicenters, home to kosher restaurants, multiple Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as sizeable Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

Edited by: Alex Berry