UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was met with jeers and insults during a visit to Golders Green on Thursday, a north London suburb where two Jewish men were stabbed earlier this week. Protesters shouted "Keir Starmer, Jew Harmer" and "traitor" as he arrived to meet leaders from Jewish security and medical charities.
The prime minister, accompanied by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, was visiting Hatzola, a Jewish medical charity whose ambulances were set on fire in an arson attack last month. The government announced an additional £25 million for protecting Jewish communities, bringing the total to £58 million, to fund increased police patrols, plain-clothes officers, and security for synagogues and schools.
Local residents voiced their fear and frustration. Sophia Ziff told the BBC: "I don't know if I should be reconsidering where in the world I should go, because I don't feel safe as a British Jew." She added that Starmer's response felt like "thoughts and prayers" without concrete action.
Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, acknowledged the "high levels of anxiety and concern" and said the government was reviewing measures in health, education, and protests. The Golders Green stabbing is the latest in a series of antisemitic attacks, including a knife attack at a Manchester synagogue in October 2025 that killed two worshippers.
Opposition leaders criticized the government's response. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch questioned whether the £25 million would suffice, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for "additional protective security measures without delay," and Reform UK's Nigel Farage demanded tougher action on pro-Palestinian marches.
Jonathan Hall KC, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, urged a "moratorium" on pro-Palestinian marches that he said "incubate" antisemitism. The Stop The War Coalition, planning a demonstration on May 16, denied any link between the marches and the attacks, calling the connection "false."
Separately, footage of the Golders Green suspect's arrest showed police officers kicking him in the head. The Met Police defended the officers, stating the suspect posed a "clear threat" and had a history of serious violence and mental health issues.