Amid a surge of anti-Semitic incidents, former military personnel have been deployed to safeguard synagogues and Jewish schools in the UK, leaving the Jewish community in a state of heightened alarm.
Traditionally, Jewish centers have relied on volunteers or hired security guards, but recent developments have seen them turning to a private security contractor. This contractor, affiliated with the Community Security Trust (CST), provides protection for British Jews and allocates funding from the Home Office.
The security firm predominantly recruits its team from the ranks of the armed forces, drawing personnel from elite units within the Royal Navy and the British Army.
These veterans were reportedly mobilized to offer temporary security to Jewish synagogues and schools following the tragic attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester this past October, where two congregants tragically lost their lives.
The escalation of tensions due to the conflict in Iran has further fueled hostility against British Jews, prompting the deployment of ex-soldiers to regions such as north London and Manchester.
Since the onset of the conflict, Tehran has reportedly claimed responsibility for several anti-Semitic incidents in the UK. These include an arson attack on a fleet of Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green and attempted petrol bombings at synagogues in Finchley and Kenton.
The most recent incident, labelled as a terror attack by the Met Police, came on Wednesday when a man stabbed two Jews in broad daylight in Golders Green.
Essa Suleiman, 45, who had previously been referred to the government’s anti-terror scheme Prevent, is accused of attacking Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 in the north London neighbourhood.
Orthodox Jews stand by a police cordon following the stabbing incident in the Golders Green area, which is home to a large Jewish population on April 29
Essa Suleiman, 45, who had previously been referred to the government’s anti-terror scheme Prevent, is accused of attacking Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 in the north London neighbourhood
CCTV image reportedly shows the moment Moshe Shine was stabbed while waiting for a bus
Rand was discharged from hospital on Thursday. Shine left hospital on Saturday morning.
He is also accused of attempting to murder Ishmail Hussein – who he had known for 20 years – in a knife attack at Hussein’s flat in Southwark, south London, earlier on the same day.
Suleiman, who came to the UK from Somalia as a child, also faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place in Golders Green.
Brave volunteers from the Shorim security charity attempted to challenged Suleiman before police officers Tasered and arrested him.
The UK’s terror threat level was raised to severe following the stabbing – meaning terror attacks on British soil are now ‘highly likely’.
The government said the increase was ‘not solely’ a result of the attack, adding the threat level had been rising ‘for some time’.
Meanwhile, a row has ignited over whether police officers at the scene of the stabbing used ‘proportionate force’ to arrest the suspect.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski was last week criticised for endorsing claims on social media that Metropolitan Police officers were heavy-handed after three people were stabbed, earning a public rebuke from Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, issued an apology for the timing of his actions on Friday night, but in a round of media interviews today doubled down on his questioning of the police’s actions.
He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuennsberg he was ‘concerned by what he saw and remains concerned’ by videos of the arrest last Wednesday.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski was last week criticised for endorsing claims on social media that Metropolitan Police officers were heavy-handed after three people were stabbed
He added that ‘people who are being brave should not be above scrutiny’ and criticised Sir Mark for intervening publicly, saying: ‘Open letters aren’t an appropriate way to do politics either in a local election.’
In a wide-ranging set of interviews he also defended pro-Palestinian marches through London saying they do not make British Jews any more ‘unsafe’.
He said said that accusations that the marches were hotbeds of anti-Semitism were a ‘distortion’ and people, including Jews like himself, had the right to march to protest against the bloodshed in Gaza.
It came after Sir Keir Starmer lashed out at chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, amid concerns about the growing threat to British Jews.
The Prime Minister also suggested he wanted to see ‘tougher action’ against people using certain phrases at Gaza demonstrations, but stopped short of agreeing with calls for a ban on the marches.
