LONDON (Reuters) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will convene leaders from across society on Tuesday to tackle antisemitism in the wake of the stabbing of two Jewish men and a string of other assaults, his office said.
The attacks have left communities fearing for their safety and piled pressure on the governing Labour Party, particularly ahead of local elections on May 7. The leader of the opposition Conservative Party has called antisemitism a “national emergency.”
The government has since raised the national terrorism threat level to “severe” and announced an additional 25 million pounds ($34 million) in funding to bolster protection of the country’s estimated 290,000-strong Jewish community.
Starmer said in a statement on Monday that last Wednesday’s stabbings in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green were part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left the country’s Jewish communities feeling frightened and angry.
“Make no mistake, this crisis – it is a crisis for all of us. It is a test of our values … it is not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities. We must show it,” he added.
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The victims of stabbings, Moshe Shine, 76, and Shilome Rand, 34, were both seriously injured.
Jewish community members have long demanded that the government do more to tackle antisemitism. When Starmer visited the area of the stabbing on Thursday, his arrival was greeted by a small group of protesters shouting, “Shame on you.”
A local resident looks out as crowds gather during a visit by Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer to an ambulance center operated by the Jewish community in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 30, 2026 (CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green Sarah Sackman decried the “muted” response from the “moderate majority’ and some anti-racism groups to spiking antisemitism in an interview with the UK’s Times newspaper published Sunday.
“For a minority community to come under this sort of sustained level of threat and attack purely for our identity, you would expect, in the normal run of things, for anti-racist organizations, for trade unions, for cultural leaders to speak out,” she said.
Tuesday’s meeting will bring together representatives from business, civil society, health, culture, higher education, and policing to take part in discussions with members of the Jewish community, hosted by ministers.
Labour MP for Finchley Sarah Sackman. (Courtesy)
The government, which has also promised legislation to deal with state-sponsored threats, said the event forms part of its efforts to accelerate work to confront militancy, protect the Jewish community, and strengthen cohesion.
Starmer will also meet with ministers on a Middle East response committee to discuss the ongoing conflict’s impact on domestic security, and especially the threat to the Jewish community, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported.
British and other Diaspora Jewish communities were already facing a massive spike in antisemitism amid the war sparked in Gaza by the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.
Following the Golders Green attack, the UK’s top police officer said British Jews are facing their greatest-ever threat, and called for 300 armed officers to be deployed to protect the Jewish community of north London.
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