The two Jews stabbed and seriously wounded Wednesday in a terror attack in Golders Green, northwest London — an area with a large Jewish community — are Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76. Both were hospitalized in stable condition. British authorities said the attacker is a 45-year-old British citizen of Somali origin.
Rand’s sister told the Daily Mail that her brother was in shock, and that the knife came within centimeters of hitting his vital organs. Rand, who also holds U.S. citizenship, had left prayers at a synagogue moments before he was stabbed in the street.
"It's appalling, but also not surprising," said his sister, who asked not to be identified. "We get targeted by antisemitism all the time. On a weekly basis, people walk past me on the street yelling "Hitler's behind you", "all Jews go to hell", "Palestinians will win", things like that."
"My brother is a very hard-working, proud citizen of this country who contributes to society. He was casually walking down the street and was pounced on by this terrorist. The only thing that provoked the attacker was the way he looked. He was attacked just because he's Jewish."
The stabbing of Moshe Shine was captured on video
Shine, 76, was stabbed at a bus stop. Friends described him as “a lovely man who minded his own business and never bothered anyone.” One friend, who also asked not to be identified, told the Daily Mail:
'He was waiting for the bus home after morning prayer. It was horror. Being a Jewish person, we were all aghast. We're not feeling safe in this country at the moment. It's purely antisemitic. They're all the same, and we're only being attacked because we are Jewish. Simple as that."
Dramatic footage from the attack showed the suspect, wearing a blue coat and sweatpants, lunging with a knife at Shine at the bus stop. Another video, unclear whether filmed before or after the bus stop attack, showed him chasing an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man down the street while shouting unintelligibly. Their encounter is obscured by a tree, and it is unclear whether the man was wounded.
The moment that the terrorist was captured and subdued
Additional footage, filmed by a Hebrew speaker, showed police trying for several seconds to arrest the attacker as he approached them in the middle of the road and ignored their calls to drop the knife. “They don’t know how to deal with a person! Take him down!” the man behind the camera shouted.
Officers were seen spraying him with what appeared to be tear gas and firing a Taser until he fell to the ground — but continued holding the knife. Officers kicked him in the head as a man in civilian clothes sat on him and helped subdue him.
At a news conference held at the scene Wednesday evening by London police commissioner Mark Rowley, the anger of the local Jewish community was evident, with residents gathered nearby shouting “Shame! Shame!” as he spoke. The chants may also have been directed at Labour lawmaker Sarah Sackman, who stood beside him.
Rowley acknowledged the anger in the Jewish community, but praised the officers’ conduct, saying that although they were not armed with firearms, only Tasers, they acted carefully and decisively, even while fearing the attacker may have been wearing an explosive belt. There is no indication he was carrying an explosive device.
Rowley stressed that London police are working to protect the city’s Jews as much as possible, and criticized what he said was a lack of sufficient condemnation of previous antisemitic attacks. “Why have we not seen more condemnations of the attacks in recent weeks? Where are all the voices against hate? And where is the solidarity with Londoners attacked solely because of who they are?” he said, without directing the criticism at any specific party.
Shomrim, a local Jewish community security organization, was the first to report the attack. It said the attacker was seen running down the street with a knife and trying to stab people who appeared Jewish. “Shomrim responded immediately and detained the suspect. Police arrived and used a Taser. The suspect was arrested,” it said.
The statement noted that Hatzola, the local Jewish emergency medical service whose ambulances were set on fire last month in another antisemitic hate crime in the same neighborhood, provided initial medical treatment to the wounded.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer quickly condemned the attack. In remarks to Parliament in London shortly after the first reports, he called it “deeply concerning.” He later issued an official statement calling it an antisemitic attack and “utterly appalling.”
“Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain,” he said. “Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for their swift action. Those responsible will face the full force of the law.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued a harsh statement accusing the British government of “weakness” and “gaslighting” that he said were leading to “one antisemitic attack after another” in London.
“Words are not enough to confront this plague. We demand and expect action from the British government to protect the Jews of England and bring the antisemites to justice,” Netanyahu said.