“People feel scared, people feel unsafe,” says Baruch Stern from Gross Butchers, behind the cordon raised after two men were stabbed in north London in an apparent antisemitic attack.
“People think, is it really the place for me to be here? Is the UK safe for Jewish people, or is it something we need to think about, moving away?”
It is feared the latest stabbing in Golders Green is the latest in a string of incidents targeting Jewish schools, synagogues and charities over the last few months.
“I would say the community is always getting messages from Westminster, encouraging messages, they’ll do this and we’ll do that. But at the end of the day, it would be much more encouraging if they would take the words into action and do something about it.”
Golders Green residents and members of the wider Jewish community in Britain have expressed shock and grief at the latest attack. A man has been arrested after he was seen running along Golders Green Road in north London armed with a knife, allegedly targeting Jewish people on the street.
The 45-year-old suspect allegedly tried to stab police officers when he was stopped and was tasered before being arrested.
Two victims, one in his 70s and the other in his 30s, are in a stable condition in hospital after the attack, which took place shortly after 11am on Highfield Avenue.
Two police helicopters circled overhead as officers sealed off the end of Golders Green Road, with a white and blue police cordon stretching across a usually busy stretch of shops, including a butcher, hairdresser and pharmacy.
A large crowd gathered near the cordon, made up predominantly of members of the Orthodox Jewish community, including young students. Police and volunteers from British Jewish emergency response moved between the groups of onlookers and shopkeepers. Residents were struggling to pass through to reach their homes.
Further up Golders Green Road, shops and restaurants remained open, with customers continuing their day.
Dov Forman, a 22-year-old student at King’s College London, said he rushed to the scene after seeing messages on WhatsApp about an attack in Golders Green. He said: “No one finds this shocking any more. We all knew this was coming. It was never a question of if there would be another attack, only when. Of course, we’re deeply saddened, and our thoughts are with the victims and their families, no one here is surprised. Ultimately we are demanding more action today.
“Many Jews are frightened, many Jews are scared. We are a resilient community. My great-grandmother survived Auschwitz. She came to this country hoping to rebuild her life and live freely as a Jewish person. It’s deeply sad that many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now questioning whether they can continue to live here.”
Jacob Lipsy, 35, who works in construction, was born and raised in Golders Green. He said his brother tried to chase down the attacker today but was not surprised by the attack.
The area is “getting more hostile”, he said, adding that he “worries for his children.”
“I think at a basic level politicians should take more responsibility in their narrative and in the way they present things.”
He added: “This is genuinely previously quite a safe area, I’d say. As for the future, the way I see the future of Jews is we’ll be OK living in a bubble. Kind of within the Jewish area, it’s fine for the foreseeable future. As soon as you exit that bubble, that’s when things happen.”
Israel Morgenstein, a 48-year-old who has lived in the area for 15 years, said: “We are thinking now that maybe it’s time to go home. We don’t feel safe. We’re not scared, but we don’t feel safe.
“I believe that the police are doing an amazing job, and the government supports as much as they can. But I don’t think they are trained to deal with such kind of situations, and this is our worry.”
Sam Adler, 37, a property developer, said: “The truth is, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When you allow antisemitism to be normalised, when you allow mobs to march through London week after week … and when you create an atmosphere where hatred towards Jews – and directly towards Jews – is tolerated, this is exactly where it leads.”
He added: “We’re going to pick up and carry on because Jews always have done. Historically, we are a resilient nation, and no one’s gonna beat us. We’re gonna be stronger than ever.”
“But on the other side of it, there’s a lot of anger. We feel that the government is encouraging this.”
The Right Rev Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Bishop of Edmonton, who lives in Golders Green, said he was walking in the same street only an hour before the stabbings.
He said: “I am deeply shocked and saddened that, yet again, two of our Jewish neighbours have been targeted and stabbed by an individual driven by hatred and violence.
“While I am immensely relieved to hear they are currently receiving medical attention, the fact that such an atrocity has occurred in our community is devastating.”