LONDON:
Two Jewish men were stabbed in north London on Wednesday by an attacker who ran down a street targeting Jews in what police said was being treated as a terrorist incident.
Police said the two victims, one in his 70s and one in his 30s, were both in a stable condition in hospital, and officers, some of whom were also attacked, had arrested a 45-year-old man after stopping him by using a Taser stun gun.
The latest in a spate of UK antisemitic attacks has drawn demands for urgent action from Jewish community leaders in London and from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli president amid concerns about the safety of Britain’s 290,000 Jews.
The suspect, who is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder, had a history of serious violence and mental health issues, London’s police chief Mark Rowley said in a statement at the scene.
More resources have been promised across the country to protect communities, but in a sign of the anger and fear, Rowley was heckled by a crowd at the scene who called for him to resign, shouting “you’ve failed”.
Unverified footage of Wednesday’s incident posted on social media appeared to show a man in a traditional Jewish skullcap being attacked by an assailant with a knife as he stood at a bus stop.
The suspect had tried to stab police officers, police said, although none were injured. The social media footage later showed officers repeatedly kicking the suspect as they attempted to take the knife away from him.
The stabbings follow a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in recent weeks in the capital, while last October two people and an attacker were killed after a man drove at a synagogue in the northern English city of Manchester.
