LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was booed and heckled with shouts of “Jew harmer” on April 30 as the Jewish community in London accused him of doing too little to protect them, a day after a knife attack.
The crowd in Golders Green in north London where two Jewish men were stabbed in broad daylight shouted “Starmer is a coward” and “show your face”.
Mr Starmer was visiting emergency services staff following the attacks, the latest in a spate that have targeted the Jewish community. The area has a large Jewish populations.
There have been arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the area in recent weeks. In 2025, an attack claimed two lives at a synagogue in Manchester.
Hours earlier, the government announced extra money for security patrols outside synagogues and schools.
An extra £25 million (S$43 million) would be allocated to fund the new security for the Jewish community, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said.
“People have a sense of deep insecurity… and that is why the government is bringing forward investment, an additional £25 million to invest in the security of our Jewish community,” Ms Mahmood told Sky News.
“That will pay for more protective security for our Jewish synagogues, schools, places of worship, community centres,” she added.
Mr Starmer, convening a top-level meeting at his Downing Street office earlier, said the justice system’s response to attacks must be “swift and visible”.
A 45-year-old man, a British national who was born in Somalia and came to Britain as a child, remains in custody following the stabbings.
Monitoring groups have reported a surge in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents in Britain, particularly since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The victims, aged 76 and 34, were in a stable condition in hospital.
The head of London’s Metropolitan Police and a Labour Party lawmaker were also heckled at the scene hours after the attacks with shouts of “shame on you”.
Rabbi Ben Kurzer, of the Golders Green Synagogue, said the government needed to do more to protect Britain’s Jews.
“There is definitely not a significant police presence on a regular basis in these areas,” he told BBC Radio.
“We have little bits here and there, but most of the security that we’re seeing is private.”
A little-known group believed to be linked to Iran, said one of its “lone wolves” was behind the stabbings, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya – meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand – made the uncorroborated claim in a video posted online, according to SITE.
It has claimed responsibility for previous arson attacks in London targeting the Jewish community
Ms Mahmood said the government would fast-track legislation to deal with “a gap in the law when it comes to organisations that may be linked to hostile states” and their proxies.
Rabbi Kurzer also urged ministers to take action on pro-Palestinian marches with “lots of anti-Jewish rhetoric” which he accused of fuelling the attacks.
“I think they are hate marchers… We all believe in free speech, but there’s obviously a limit to free speech when it’s leading to events such as we had yesterday,” he said, without offering evidence to support the claim.
In 2025, the government announced it would give police greater powers to restrict demonstrations.
They were aimed at allowing police to take into account the “cumulative impact” of frequent protests.
Some marchers have insisted that their protests intend to draw attention to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and are not targeted at the Jewish community.
Mr Jonathan Hall, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, on April 29 said he believed it was impossible for such marches not to “incubate” anti-Semitism.
He described recent attacks on Jews as a “massive national security emergency” and called for a “moratorium” on pro-Palestinian marches.
Mr Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, said at the scene that the authorities had been too “soft” on “discriminatory” chants. AFP
