UK tightens security for Jewish community after attack with two injuries

(AFP) The British government announced Thursday it will allocate an additional 25 million pounds ($31 million) to ensure the safety of the Jewish community following a stabbing Wednesday in London in which two people were injured.

The incident follows a series of antisemitic incidents in recent weeks in the same area of the capital, home to a large Jewish community.

"People have a sense of deep insecurity. It is our job to respond to that, and that is why the government is bringing forward investment, an additional 25 million pounds, to invest in the security of our Jewish community," Home Office Minister Shabana Mahmood told Sky News.

"That will pay for more protective security for our Jewish synagogues, schools, places of worship, community centers," she added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday at the start of a meeting with security officials and several ministers that the judicial response to the attacks on the Jewish community must be "swift and visible."

Starmer had on Wednesday described the attack as "absolutely outrageous."

Following that first statement by Starmer, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis, responded that "words of condemnation are no longer sufficient" and called on the authorities to take "meaningful action."

On Wednesday, two Jewish men were injured in a stabbing attack in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London. It was described as a "terrorist" incident by police.

A 45-year-old suspect, a Somali-born Briton, was arrested shortly afterward for attempted murder. Police indicated that he had a "history of serious violence and psychological problems."

Shabana Mahmood specified on Thursday that the detainee came to the U.K. as a child "in the 1990s."

The two injured men, aged 76 and 34, remained hospitalized and in "stable condition" on Wednesday night, police said.

Nearly 30 people have been arrested in investigations into arson attacks on sites linked to the Jewish community in London.

A hitherto little-known group, "Harakat Ashab al Yamin al Islamiyya" (Hayi), described as pro-Iranian, claimed responsibility for several of these incidents, as well as others in Europe.

On Wednesday, the group praised the knife attack in Golders Green and attributed it to its "lone wolves."

Without specifically mentioning the group, the home secretary said the government intends to "take action to be able to target organizations operating on behalf of other countries" through legislation currently in preparation.