In response to the antisemitic stabbing incident in Golders Green, the United Kingdom has elevated its national terror threat level to “severe” as of Thursday. This change indicates that authorities now believe the likelihood of another terrorist attack occurring within the next six months is significantly high.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) made the decision to raise the U.K. National Threat Level from “substantial” to “severe” shortly after two individuals were attacked in north London. Police have officially classified this incident as an act of terrorism.
Authorities have clarified that the decision was not solely due to the recent attack in Golders Green, but is instead indicative of a general increase in extreme right-wing terrorism within the country.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the attack as “abhorrent and antisemitic,” acknowledging that the heightened threat level would understandably cause anxiety, especially within the Jewish community, which has endured significant hardships.
In the aftermath of the incident, Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid a visit to the Hatzola Northwest independent ambulance base in Golders Green on April 30, 2026, to offer support.
Police reported that officers responded to multiple stabbing reports on Highfield Avenue in the Barnet borough around 11:16 a.m. on Wednesday.
Two men, ages 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to a hospital, where they remain and are “being looked after,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.
On Thursday, police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Essa Suleiman. Suleiman is a British national born in Somalia who had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”, police say.
Police arrest a demonstrator during a rally organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, opposite Downing Street in central London on April 30, 2026, following the stabbing of two Jewish men the day before in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London. (Carlos Jasso/ AFP via Getty Images)
The Home Office said the threat-level increase comes against a backdrop of rising terrorism in the U.K.
On Thursday, protesters gathered on Downing Street to voice concerns that not enough has been done to protect the Jewish community.
In response to the attack and a recent rise of antisemitic arson attacks in London, the government announced an additional £25 million in funding to protect Jewish communities, bringing total support this year to £58 million. Officials said the money will be used to boost police patrols and protective security at synagogues, schools and community centers.
The funding will also support an expansion of Project Servator, which deploys specialist and plainclothes officers trained to spot suspicious behavior and identify people preparing to commit serious crimes.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the British government cannot credibly claim to be combating antisemitism unless it also confronts what he described as “explicit incitement against the Jewish state.”
“Hate slogans and anti-Semitic marches in the streets of London aren’t ‘free speech’. They are incitement,” he wrote on X. “They bring terror directed against Jews.
They must be banned. The phrase ‘Globalise the Intifada’, means killing Jews everywhere. It must be banned.”
“This is what the British government must immediately do to fight antisemitism. Otherwise, it’s just more empty words.”
Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting with representatives from criminal justice agencies at number 10 Downing Street, Westminster, following a terror attack in Golders Green. (Dan Kitwood/PA Images via Getty Images)
Taylor said the attack has now been formally classified as terrorism and that counterterrorism officers are working with security services to establish the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture.
“Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened,” Taylor said.
A police officer at the scene where two people were stabbed Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an antisemitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
A statement posted on X by Shomrim, a volunteer neighborhood watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, said the suspect was seen “armed with a knife” on Golders Green Road and was detained by members before police arrived.
Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said officers “swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm,” adding that investigators are “considering all possible motives” and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.
Police at the scene where two people were stabbed Wednesday April 29, 2026 in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an antisemitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
The U.K. was last at the “severe” threat level in November 2021, following the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing and the killing of lawmaker Sir David Amess, before it was lowered to “substantial” in February 2022.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents “an attack on Britain,” while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is “no place for antisemitism” in the city.
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