A Jewish man who witnessed the terror attack in north London yesterday has been caught up in two anti-Semitic assaults in just nine days.
Property surveyor Moshe was targeted in an unprovoked incident in Slough on April 23, in which a stranger shouted abuse at him and called him a ‘dirty mother f****** Jew’.
And on Wednesday morning he was in Golders Green to see the horrific aftermath as two Jewish men were stabbed in broad daylight in the latest terrorist incident to strike Britain.
Moshe, 30, told the Daily Mail: ‘Again. And again. And again. All talk, no action.
‘British Jews must come to terms with the reality that we’re not safe here. This hatred has been left unchecked for so long, it’s ingrained in our society, it’s everywhere and it’s too late.
‘Thankfully, we Jews can find a safe haven in Israel, but where do the other 69 million Britons go?’
It comes as a knifeman stabbed an elderly Jewish man at a bus stop on Highfield Avenue, Golders Green at around 11.15am, before chasing a second down the street.
Two Jewish men aged 76 and 34 are in a stable condition in hospital, and a 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Video obtained by the Daily Mail the suspect in yesterday’s terror attack rushing a man waiting at a bus stop and frantically knifing him before two heroic members of the public run towards him
Property surveyor Moshe arrived on the scenes seconds after the stabbings and was also targeted in an anti-Semitic attack last week carried out by Shafiq Rahman, 48 (pictured)
The suspect also tried to stab police officers when confronted, before he was Tasered and detained. He remains in police custody.
The Met Police said on Wednesday night that the suspect was a Somali-born British national. The head of counter terror policing Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor formally previously designating the stabbings as a terror attack.
According to the force, the suspect has a history of ‘serious violence’ and mental health issues.
Moshe spoke to the Daily Mail after witnessing the incident, just nine days after he was subjected to a vile anti-Semitic attack himself.
The property surveyor was working in Slough when he was approached by stranger Shafiq Rahman on a bicycle last Monday.
The 48-year-old, of Lismore Park, Slough, subjected him to a torrent of abuse and racial slurs and accused him of being a ‘baby killer’.
The attack, which was caught on video, saw Rahman threaten Moshe with physical violence, saying ‘I’ll break your f****** jaw’ before accusing him of ‘killing kids in Palestine’.
He told how the man again said ‘You killing kids in Palestine, you motherf******?’ before hitting him.
Rahman was arrested by police and admitted racially aggravated common assault, fear or provocation of violence by words and criminal damage at Reading Magistrates’ Court last week.
District Judge Devinder Sanhu described the attack as a ‘pure hate crime’.
Officers kick the suspect in the head after Tasering him while shouting ‘drop the knife’. They were helped by a passer-by (right)
An armed policeman at the scene of the stabbings, which happened at around 11.15am
Anushka A, prosecuting, said: ‘I believe the victim was wearing a kippah and believes that for this reason he was targeted in this attack.’
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Moshe said: ‘This incident has changed my perspective on what it is to be a Jew openly in public.’
Moshe, who is a member of the ultra-Orthodox community living in north London, arrived at the scene moments after two Jewish men were stabbed.
They have been named locally as Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76.
Video obtained by the Daily Mail shows the suspect rushing at a man waiting by a bus stop and frantically knifing him before two hero bystanders run to help.
In separate footage, a crouching figure follows a man wearing ultra-Orthodox attire along a street near a synagogue. He then ambushes another Jewish man walking in the other direction.
Later, the suspect is seen in a stand-off with two police officers before one of them shoots him with a Taser before kicking him in his head as officers repeatedly shouted at him to ‘drop the knife’.
Onlookers said the attacker was given CPR after ‘going into cardiac arrest when he was Tasered’.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the stabbings ‘deeply concerning’ and said his Government is ‘absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the like of which we have seen too much recently’.
But Israel’s foreign ministry said Sir Keir’s statements are ‘no substitute for confronting the roots of antisemitism’ and ‘the UK Government can no longer claim this is under control’.
Giving a statement to the media this afternoon, Commissioner of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley said the suspect has a history of serious violence and mental health problems.
A photo of the scene in Golders Green on Wednesday, with an ambulance parked on the road alongside several police cars
Other officers were seen speaking to members of the public
Footage posted on social media showed the suspect, 45, being arrested by officers after being Tasered
He told journalists that the two officers who confronted, Tasered and arrested the 45-year-old believed he had a bomb on him.
Heroic bystanders cornered the attacker with a vehicle while volunteers from Shomrim, which conducts civilian security patrols through Jewish communities, were on the scene ‘in a minute and a half’.
Sir Mark warned of a rise in antisemitic violence being fuelled from abroad, adding: ‘Let me be clear, we’ve seen a rise in racist and antisemitic hate crime and whilst I can’t comment on my investigations, we know that some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organisations and hostile states.’
He went on to praise his officers for confronting the suspect, who they thought might be carrying an explosive, saying: ‘My first thoughts are with the two British Jews, who were attacked whilst going about their daily lives, which they should be able to do freely and safely in their own local community.
‘I also want to pay tribute to my officers, who were on the scene within a few minutes, and whose actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and saved lives. I also want to recognise the extraordinary voluntary first responders from the community, including the Shomrim.’
But he was heckled during the press conference as the Met – and the government – faces criticism over a series of anti-Semitic incidents in north London in recent weeks.
The attack took place just minutes away from where four community ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were set on fire last month.
Police are also investigating an arson attack on a nearby memorial wall.
Other incidents have seen arson attacks on synagogues and a building formerly used by a Jewish charity.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would ‘strain every sinew’ to keep Jewish people safe following the ‘horrifying’ incident.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said rising anti-Semitism must now be treated as a ‘national emergency’.
She said: ‘Jewish people in our country are under constant attack. This is no longer a growing pattern.
‘There is an epidemic of violence against Jewish people.
‘It is now a national emergency and needs to be treated as such by the Government and public authorities.’
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has announced a ‘national emergency’ rally to be held outside Downing Street on Thursday evening in response to Wednesday’s attack.
A spokesperson said: ‘This is a National Emergency. We need to dispense with the political platitudes. Prime Minister, what is your plan?
‘Six months ago we stood outside Downing Street after the fatal terrorist attack Heaton Park Synagogue. Things have only got worse. More Jews attacked. Synagogues burned. More lives at risk. What action is the Government taking?
‘We are demonstrating outside Downing Street on Thursday evening to ask the Prime Minister a simple question: ‘What’s the plan?’ We must take this to the Prime Minister’s door. He’s had plenty of time. What is he actually going to do?’
