Celebrities, cultural icons and ordinary Brits rallied round to support the Jewish community in the wake of the Golders Green attack.
Author JK Rowling, singer Boy George, historian Tom Holland and TV presenters Kirstie Allsopp and Chloe Madeley all spoke out against antisemitism.
Harry Potter author Rowling was outspoken in her views as she posted to her almost 14 million followers on X.
After Green Party leader Zack Polanski condemned the “horrendous attack” without any mention of the Jewish community, Rowling posted: “Why do leaders of the Greens have such difficulty naming the particular demographic likely to be most ‘shaken’ and ‘affected’ by two men from their community having their throats cut on a London street?”
The author used her high profile to share allied views. Rowling reposted Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis saying: “This is a hatred that we must face down together”, and retweeted a statement by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch that included the stark warning: “Jewish people in our country are under constant attack.”
Boy George also expressed support for the Jewish community. He posted: “I was in Golders Green yesterday. I arrived just as the police presence was building. My heart goes out to the two Jewish victims and to their loved ones. We need to make our Jewish community know we support them.
“Even before I knew what had happened I was in tears because you could feel panic in the air. These are just regular people getting with their lives. London has always been a great multicultural city. Our Jewish community brings us so much. They are an integral part of the fabric of this city.”
Another local resident, TV presenter Chloe Madeley, wrote on X: “Golders Green is my home, its residents are my neighbours and friends, and this is a very real, very scary sequence of events. Humanity must prevail. Division is dangerous. Communities must stand together.”
Holland, co-presenter of the enormously popular podcast The Rest Is History, reacted to the news with a sobering view of the state of Britain.
He posted: “It’s all too clear that a country in which Jews are attacked on the streets simply because they are Jewish, synagogues need to employ security, & anti-Semitic slogans & images are paraded through city centres or exhibited in art galleries is exactly what we’ve become.”
Allsopp responded with sarcasm to criticism of the police for using force to take down the attacker.
She posted: “I love the UK, a man can run around the streets stabbing people for being Jewish, and the issue people debate is whether the police officers trying to remove the knife from him used excessive force.
“Proof that we will do absolutely anything to avoid addressing antisemitism.”
James Chiavarini, owner of the celebrated Kensington restaurant Il Portico, thought of local people who may have been affected by the attack. He posted: “I have two restaurants in Kensington. The Israeli embassy is at the top of the road.
“Chants of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ and the like were made loud and clear on the high street the day after October 7th and long before any action had been taken by Israel in response to the atrocities caused by Hamas. The police did nothing to stop it.
“Now we have a situation where my Jewish customers (specially the elderly) are too scared to go out for dinner. I know this because many have told me the same thing. Kensington is not a particularly Jewish neighbourhood. If there are any Jewish (or non for that matter) guests in the neighbourhood and you’re understandably hesitant about leaving your front door at night, then please message me. I will arrange something to to be delivered to you. My DMs are open. Peace and solidarity always.”
And here at the JC, our inbox was filled with expressions of support from non-Jewish readers. One, from a Muslim resident of Watford, leads our letters page this week, offering friendship and sympathy. A Christian woman from Yorkshire suggested that there should be a petition that non-Jewish people could sign to support British Jews.
And from Temple Fortune, near the scene of the attack, the Christian Bridge Foundation wrote: “We call upon the government to take action against antisemitism, and to legislate against the IRGC and similar terror-supporting forces.
“We stand by the right of the people of Israel and Jewish diaspora communities around the world to live in peace and security, defended against the forces of terrorism.
“We note that these same forces also come against our fellow Christians in the Middle East and parts of Africa, and even in some cases here in Europe.”
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