The stabbing of two men in north-west London on Wednesday by an attacker described as seeking anyone “visibly Jewish” would be horrifying under any circumstances. That it comes amid rising antisemitic crime in the area, in the UK and around the world makes it all the more frightening.

A community persecuted throughout history faces a fresh wave of hatred and abuse. Shock and grief are mixed with fear, with some British Jews asking whether they can be safe in the UK. This is the third attack in five weeks in the same part of Golders Green alone. Last October, two people were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Heaton Park, Manchester, on Yom Kippur. In December, two men were found guilty of plotting to infiltrate and open fire on a march against antisemitism in the same city. That month, a pair of gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

The precise facts of individual crimes, as well as their common roots, must be understood. Police are treating the Golders Green stabbing as terrorism-related and have said that the suspect arrested at the scene was referred to the Prevent deradicalisation scheme in 2020. Once again, authorities face questions on how individuals flagged as threats are handled. The man is also said to have a history of mental health problems and violence.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia – supposedly a new terror group but thought likely to be a front for an Iranian state agency – claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack. Investigators suspect its statement was merely opportunistic in this case. But analysts believe that Iran may have recruited young people, possibly via criminal intermediaries, to attack Jewish as well as Israeli properties in Europe in retaliation for the US-Israeli war.

It should not require saying that Jewish people in Britain are not responsible for the Israeli government’s actions. Yet too often they are conflated. Researchers note that Islamic State has been exploiting the war in Gaza to mobilise followers for new attacks in the west, increasingly targeting Jews in its rhetoric. Beyond this lies the broader context of antisemitism, including from the far right, and of growing intolerance generally. Religious hate crime recorded by the police reached a high last year.

In allocating resources and determining policing strategies, it is essential that decision-makers see the wood as well as the trees – addressing patterns and not just individual incidents. The additional £25m of government funding to boost police patrols and protection around synagogues, schools and community centres is welcome. London’s mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, and the Metropolitan police want funding for neighbourhood policing teams in areas with large Jewish communities, and an additional team to expedite hate crime investigations. The grim fact that high-profile incidents are often followed by bursts of further offences – as after the Manchester synagogue attack – could also make a case for fast-tracking some criminal proceedings, as was done following the 2024 riots.

Yet it is not only the state that needs to tackle antisemitism but Britain as a whole. The public more broadly must challenge hatred, make clear that violence and abuse will not be tolerated, and demonstrate solidarity – as people did in Manchester. No one should be intimidated into concealing their identity; no community should need a security presence to learn or worship safely. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that ends.

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