The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council have released the following statement after the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green this morning.
“We are sickened by yet another terrorist attack on our community, this time targeting two visibly Jewish men on the streets of London. This comes after weeks of arson attacks targeting Jewish premises, and just seven months after two Jews were murdered in Manchester on Yom Kippur. For many in our community, this feels relentless.
Our thoughts are with the victims, and we pray for their swift recovery. We also thank the police, Shomrim, Hatzola and CST for their swift response.
We cannot ignore the context: a wave of antisemitic hatred driven by extremists at home and abroad, including Islamist extremism that motivated the Heaton Park attack, and attempts by the Iranian regime to orchestrate violence against British Jews.
This attack, and the others we have witnessed, are not only on the Jewish community, but on our country and its values. It is an attack on the right to live freely, to celebrate one’s identity without fear, and to walk our streets in safety.
The government, the justice system and leaders at every level must recognise the seriousness of this moment. We will continue to demand from all relevant authorities that they respond with the urgency and resolve this challenge requires.
This hatred cannot be contained with words. It must be confronted, punished and deterred with the full force of the state.
The antisemites are attempting to raise the cost of being Jewish in the UK. We must work as a society to ensure the cost of being antisemitic is far higher.
Security measures are essential, but they alone are not the answer. Government must deliver on its commitments to tackle sources of antisemitic extremism at home and abroad. We will not allow Jewish life to be forced behind barriers.
British Jews will not be intimidated. But we should not face this threat alone. A silent majority offers little reassurance. This is a moment for the whole of society to speak up loudly and stand together against this hatred.”