Antisemitism a ‘national emergency’, says terror watchdogpublished at 05:43 BST
05:43 BST
Image source, PA MediaImage caption,
A protest was held in Golders Green following the attack
There is growing pressure on the government to tackle antisemitism in the UK, with the Golders Green attack being the latest in a series of recent incidents targeting the Jewish community.
The government’s independent reviewer of terrorism and state threats legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, told the BBC’s The World Tonight that attacks on Jewish people in the UK have now become “the biggest national security emergency” since 2017.
“There are Brits in London in particular, Manchester, but probably all around the country, who are now thinking they cannot live a normal life. And it’s not one attack, it’s multiple attacks,” he said.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who represents Britain’s largest Jewish community, said the incident “proves that if you are visibly Jewish, you’re not safe and far more needs to be done”.
He called for “meaningful action” to tackle the “root causes” of antisemitism, while the Board of Deputies of British Jews said antisemitism must be “confronted, punished and deterred with the full force of the state”.
After the attack the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said words were “not enough to confront this scourge” of attacks in London.