Two Jewish men have been stabbed in London in an incident that British police are treating as a terrorist attack. 

Officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after tasering the suspected knifeman in Golders Green, a major Jewish area in north London. Police said the suspect had also attempted to stab officers.

Police said they were working to determine whether the attack deliberately targeted Jewish people, adding that they were considering “all possible motives” as part of their investigation.

The two victims, a man in his 70s and a man in his 30s, remain in hospital in a stable condition, police said.

Series of attacks heightens concern

The stabbings follow a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in London over the past month.

Officers have arrested more than two dozen people as part of investigations into attacks on Jewish-linked premises.

Wednesday’s attack took place close to where ambulances belonging to a volunteer-led service run by the Jewish community were set alight in March. Synagogues, as well as Jewish-owned charities and businesses, have also been targeted.

In October 2025, two people and an attacker were killed after a man drove at a synagogue in the UK’s second city, Manchester.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who promised to combat the rise of antisemitism after the Manchester killings, said: "The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling."

Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the government needed more than just words to face down "hatred.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said urgent action was needed, warning it had become "dangerous to openly walk the streets as a Jew" in London.

Investigation and international links

Golders Green, in north London, is home to a large Jewish population and has been the location of several of the attacks, along with sites near the Israeli embassy in west London.

Police said they were working to establish the background and nationality of the suspect in Wednesday’s attack.

Unverified footage posted on social media appeared to show a man wearing a traditional Jewish skullcap being attacked with a knife while standing at a bus stop. The footage also appeared to show officers repeatedly kicking the suspect in the head as they attempted to disarm him.

Arson incidents over the past month are being investigated for possible Iranian links, amid warnings from security officials that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK.

A pro-Iranian group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, which says it was behind other incidents across Europe, has claimed responsibility for some of the London attacks on social media.

On Tuesday, Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador over what it described as the Iranian embassy’s "unacceptable and inflammatory" comments online. While Britain did not specify the remarks, the embassy had called on Iranians in Britain to volunteer for a campaign declaring their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their country.

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Rising antisemitism and political response

Antisemitic attacks have risen globally since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. This includes a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach that killed 15 people in December last year.

Britain has seen a similar rise since the Manchester attack, with Jewish communities increasing private security measures.

Local MP Sarah Sackman said on X that she was meeting Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to discuss the situation. Mahmood said on social media that her thoughts were with the victims of the "abhorrent" attack.

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Britain Jewish community crime Terrorism News