UK vows to tackle antisemitism 'emergency' as police probe double stabbing attack

LONDON (AP) — The British government Thursday called antisemitism in the U.K. an “emergency,” and said it would spend millions increasing security around Jewish sites after a string of arson attacks and a double stabbing.

The government announced 25 million pounds ($34 million) for more police patrols and protection around synagogues, schools and community centers after two Jewish men were stabbed and seriously injured in London’s Golders Green neighborhood on Wednesday. The victims, aged 34 and 76, are in stable condition.

Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and labeled the attack an act of terrorism. Detectives are working to determine a motive, and whether there could be a link to Iranian proxies.

Counterterrorism police are investigating whether the stabbings are linked to recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital.

Police said the suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, had “a history of serious violence and mental health issues.” Police searched a property in southeast London after reports the suspect was involved in an “altercation” in the area hours before the Golders Green attack.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was treating antisemitism as “an emergency,” calling it “the top pressing issue in relation to security” she faced.

Britain’s Jewish community is long established, but tiny as a percentage of the population, numbering about 300,000. The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicenters, home to kosher restaurants, Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as large Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

In October 2025, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and fatally stabbed one person. Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.

Some Jews and others say pro-Palestinian protests have gone beyond criticism of Israel's actions to foster an atmosphere of intimidation and hatred against Jews.

The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, but some say chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” incite anti-Jewish hatred. Some protesters have been arrested for displaying support for Hamas, a banned organization in the U.K.

Jonathan Hall, the government’s former reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for pro-Palestinian marches to be temporarily banned, saying they had helped “incubate” antisemitism.

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch backed calls for a ban, saying the marches “are used as a cover for violence and intimidation against Jews.”

Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, there have been a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites and opponents of the Iranian government. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven’t caused injuries.

Several of the attacks have been claimed online in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia. Israel’s government has described the group, whose name means the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, as a recently founded group with suspected links to “an Iranian proxy” that has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

An online claim in the same name also took responsibility for Wednesday’s stabbing. Mahmood said authorities were investigating whether that claim was credible or “opportunistic.”

The government said Thursday it would bring in legislation to prosecute “individuals and groups acting on behalf of state-sponsored organizations.”