Yonathan tells how he joined police officers in wrestling man to the ground after stabbing outside a synagogue in Golders Green
A hero Shomrim volunteer has revealed the moment he locked eyes with a suspected terrorist who tried to attack “everyone around him”. Yonathan, a Shomrim officer, told how he joined police officers in wrestling the man to the ground after two Jewish people were stabbed outside a synagogue in Golders Green.
And he described how the suspect “came at me with a knife”. The alleged terrorist, who has a history of serious violence and mental health problems, was eventually Tasered and arrested. Yonathan told Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp: “I managed to block him off, and with the police, we managed to put him down. It’s very difficult to juggle someone with a knife and try to protect others, to take him down and try to protect yourself as well. I did my best.
“He was going at everyone around him, including myself. At one point, he made eye contact with me, and came at me with a knife.
“He was going at the policeman, he was going at someone else. You go forward to try and block him, but then you go back because he’s coming towards you with a knife.”
Another of the Shomrim heroes said: “He was on a mission.”
Another witness, James Marlow, told the Daily Express how the suspect desperately clung on to the knife, refusing to let it go even after he was Tasered.
He said: “He was struggling. They were trying to get the knife, but he refused to drop it.
“The police officers feared for their lives. He didn’t say a word.
“He stabbed someone in the neck. He was bleeding quite a lot.
“He decided to carry out his attack at a time when there are 60, 70, 80 police officers in the area. It’s like he had a mission and he was going to carry out that mission.”
Two men, aged 76 and 34, are in a stable condition in hospital after they were stabbed in Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, north London.
Disturbing footage posted online appears to show a man waiting at a bus stop putting on a kippah before an attacker lunges at him.
Another clip shows two police officers facing down the man in the middle of the road, before using a Taser and kicking him repeatedly in the head.
The heroic police officers feared the suspect had explosives on him.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, said: “Before coming here today, I met with them.
“They are nothing short of extraordinary. They confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent, and who continued to pose a clear threat.
“These were not armed officers, and they feared that he was concealing an explosive device. Using only their training, courage and Tasers, they detained him while he continued to try to attack and stab them.
“They will tell you they were simply doing their jobs, but without their bravery, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.”
Sir Mark said antisemitism is being fuelled by “hostile states, the extreme right and the extreme left” who are given space to operate because of “weak” civil debate.
He added: “This is an attack on one community, an attack on one community is an attack on all London’s communities. This was an attack on Londoners. It is an attack on British Jews.
“Too many Jewish people in this country feel they have to make choices that no other Briton ever has to make. They have to make choices about how they dress, where they go, or how visibly they live their lives. That’s completely unacceptable and has gone on for far too long.
“We also need to be honest about the nature of the threat. Antisemitism is fuelled by hateful and extremist ideologies. It comes from hostile states, the extreme right, and the extreme left.
“These are terrorists and hateful belief systems, but they’re all rooted in racism. They’re given space to operate when civic debate is weak, when hatred is excused, and when people are unwilling to challenge it directly, I also believe now is the time to ask some difficult questions.
“Why don’t we see more condemnation of the attacks we’ve seen in recent weeks? Where are all the voices against hate? And where is the solidarity with fellow Londoners who are being targeted simply for who they are? Legitimate debate about international affairs should never be allowed to legitimise antisemitism or violence against British Jews here on the streets of London.
“When that line is blurred, attacks become more likely. Let me be clear, we’ve seen a rise in racist and antisemitic hate crime. And whilst I can’t comment on live 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.”
And Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it is too early to say whether the perpetrator of the north London stabbing attack could have links to Iran.
She told broadcasters: “It’s very early to say what the motivations of this attacker may have been and it would be improper for me to speculate whilst the facts are being established.
“But as soon as more facts are established, then we will of course be keeping the public updated.”
