Officials in the UK raised the national terrorism threat to its second-highest level following an attack on Wednesday in which two Jewish men were stabbed in north London and another man was separately attacked.
A 45-year-old man appeared in court on Friday on a charge of attempted murder over the attack in Golders Green, an area with a large Jewish population, in what officers have called a suspected terrorist incident.
Somalian-born Essa Suleiman, who has UK citizenship, is also charged with attempted murder in relation to a separate incident earlier on Wednesday in south London in which he allegedly attacked Ishmail Hussein, described in court as a former friend, leaving him with minor injuries.
Serious Mental Health Issues
The accused has a history of serious violence and mental health issues, police said.
UK media reported that Suleiman left a psychiatric hospital run by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in recent days, and was living in supported housing for mental health patients at the time of the three attacks.
The Golders Green stabbings followed a number of recent arson incidents targeting Jewish premises in the same area of north London, known for its large number of Orthodox Jews.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would take stronger action to help the Jewish community feel safe, following concerns from some groups that the war in Gaza and anti-Zionist sentiment is fueling anti-Semitism.
Concern Over Pro-Palestine Marches
Pro-Palestinian marches could now face restrictions amid calls from some groups for more protection for Britain’s small Jewish community of about 290,000.
Thousands of people, including pensioners, have been arrested at the protests for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action since it was proscribed as a terrorist organization in July 2025.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council released a joint statement saying they were “sickened” by the Golders Green stabbings, which they said targeted “two visibly Jewish men.”
The UK’s independent reviewer of terror legislation Jonathan Hall, KC, called for the pro-Palestinian marches to be banned.
The barrister, whose wife is Jewish, told The Jewish News on Thursday, “Since the right to life is more important than the right to protest, it makes sense to consider a pause or moratorium on protests where public demonisation and hatred are incubated.”
“We are talking about protecting British lives, and the life of the community,” he added. “In order to protect British lives in the current emergency, I would take a precautionary approach: ban the demos to lower the risk of more attacks.”
‘Attack on Civil Liberties’
Jewish Voice for Liberation (JVL), an anti-Zionist group that campaigns for peace in the Middle East, said they “utterly condemned” the “inexcusable” attack, adding that “Jews in Britain are not to blame for what Israel does.”
In a statement to The Epoch Times, JVL said they are concerned that attacks against Jews are being “weaponized” to clamp down on the pro-Palestinian marches, which have drawn large numbers of protesters from across the UK since Israel’s latest war in Gaza began.
“We do have some serious concerns about the way the attacks are being weaponized. Why was the attack, by a suspect known to have a history of mental illness as well as violence, immediately designated as terrorism? We also question and oppose the swift moves to link the attack to the pro-Palestinian marches that have been taking place to protest the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.”
JVL added that talk of stopping peaceful protest is “an attack on our civil liberties.”
“It is a time for serious thought about what is causing this increase in antisemitic attacks and how to address this. The government, the police and Jewish leaders such as the Board of Deputies must think more carefully about what’s going on internationally as well as in the UK,” they added.
“For too long there has been a conflation of criticism of Israel and anti-Zionism with antisemitism. This is becoming a serious issue.”
Tens of Millions in Extra Funding
In response to the attack, the government announced an extra 25 million pounds ($34 million) would be given to increase police patrols and security measures at synagogues and Jewish schools.
The terrorism threat level in the UK was last at “severe” in November 2021, following the bombing of the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess, before being lowered to “substantial” in February 2022.
A pro-Palestinian protest organized by the Stop the War coalition is scheduled to take place in London on May 16.
Stop the War said in a statement that attempts by some to connect a series of “horrific antisemitic attacks” in north London with the marches were false.
“We believe that the statements by Jonathan Hall KC, suggesting that the Palestine marches should be subject to a ‘moratorium’ because of the series of antisemitic attacks in North London, are unacceptable.
“We condemn unequivocally these attacks, as we do all forms of antisemitism and racism. No one should be attacked for their race or religion.”
As he visited the site of the attack on Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose wife, Victoria, is Jewish, was met by boos from a small crowd, with chants including “Keir Starmer, Jew Harmer.”
In a televised address about anti-Semitism, Starmer said his government would do “everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”
He said this would include stronger powers to shut down charities deemed to be promoting extremism and a clampdown on “hate preachers.”
“We need stronger powers to tackle the malign threat posed by states like Iran, because we know for a fact that they want to harm British Jews,” Starmer said.
The government wants to fast-track legislation allowing the prosecution of people acting as proxies of a state-sponsored group, so they can be dealt with in the same way as spies for foreign intelligence services.
Threats From Multiple Directions
Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing, said Britain had been experiencing a growing terrorist threat for some time, with risks coming from multiple directions.
“We are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK,” he said in a statement, adding that police were also working “against an unpredictable global situation that has consequences closer to home, including physical threats by state-linked actors.”
The government said the raising of the terrorism threat level to “severe” is not due solely to the Golders Green attack but because of increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”
Suleiman appeared before London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with the attempted murders of 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine, also known as Norman Shine, and possession of a bladed article.
The Metropolitan Police said that Rand, the younger victim, had been released from hospital, while Shine remained in a stable condition.
Police say Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent program, which attempts to steer individuals away from extremism.
They did not disclose the reason for the referral and say Suleiman’s file was closed in the same year.
Suleiman was remanded in custody and will appear at London’s Old Bailey court on May 15—the day before the next major pro-Palestinian march is set to take place in London.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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