Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley (L) walks with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis (2R) as they visit the scene of a stabbing attack in Golders Green, April 29, 2026 (Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
The chief rabbi went on to call on the “silent community to come out and raise their voices” in wake of the attack.
“We do know that the vast majority of people are with us, the vast majority of British people are decent people with good values, and they also appreciate that the attack on Jews is an attack on everybody,” he said.
“But we need to hear far more voices of condemnation, we need to know that the whole nation is with us, which means the whole nation is with the nation, because all of Britain is under attack right now.”
He added that he has been “so inspired and so impressed” by the Jewish community following this and similar incidents, to which it has “always responded with deep resilience and incredible fortitude”.
In a message directly to British Jews, the chief rabbi said: “Our response needs to be one of pride: to stand tall, we are Jewish, we are proud of it. We believe in the concept of the state of Israel, we are proud of the state of Israel, and we will openly and proudly practise our Judaism.
“We will come to our stores, we will come to our synagogues, and we will do it in greater numbers.”
A 45-year-old man has been arrested following a stabbing attack on two visibly Jewish individuals in Golders Green on Wednesday morning.
The victims, one man in his 70s and another in his 30s, are reportedly in stable condition.
Iran-linked group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi) has claimed responsibility for the attack on its social media channels, but this has not been verified independently.
Also speaking to the JC at the site of the attack, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, the Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism, said: “We’re very vulnerable and I am grateful to the CST and Shomrim and Hatzola.
"We’re deeply resilient. We see Jewish life continuing, Jewish life is nothing if not resilience. We won’t be stopped by this horror of a campaign of intimidation.
"We ask the government and all layers of society to do their best coming together.”
