Residents in Golders Green who woke up this morning to a barely-there police presence after two men were stabbed in what has been declared a terrorist incident have opened up about the anger and fear they feel in the wake of the targeted attack.
Community in Shock
For courageous volunteer security guard Ben Grossnass, the double stabbing is the latest shocking incident which makes him consider his family’s safety even living in Britain. But Ben is not the only one thinking of moving. Shop owner Deborah Miller admitted: “We are thinking of leaving the UK.” And she feared her home of Golders Green would be turned into a “walled city.”
As the streets of north London returned to some sort of normality this morning, there was widespread anger at how the Jewish community is being treated. There was barely a visible police presence at all with cordons lifted and commuters making their way to work.
Fear and Defiance
Worried parents took their children to school desperately trying to keep their spirits up. One little boy celebrated his 11th birthday with a special cake in the Grodz bakery, which has been serving locals in the area since 1888. Some schools have told youngsters not to wear anything that shows they are “visibly Jewish.” Regular patrols from the Shomrim, volunteer security vehicles funded by the local community, were seen.
Ben spoke to the Mirror and admitted: “We are extremely stretched. We are here for the safety of the community. I have a wife and four kids. Very much - I’m not sure if they have a safe future in Britain. We will be more certain with support of the government.”
Ben, who works with the Shomrim North West London community control, added: “We’ve been working for the past 17 years. I’m a volunteer. I’ve been to the ambulance explosions here - which are virtually the same place as this attack. Unfortunately there is a terrible pattern and an uptick in anti-Semitic attacks. People coming out of synagogue are getting stabbed. This is crazy. The government should be standing shoulder to shoulder with local community. It’s time they put their hand in the pocket and supported us. I do this because it’s my passion - to ensure the safety of our local community.”
Leaving the UK?
Deborah, 54, a jewellery shop owner, was wearing a necklace with the message: “We will dance again.” - a direct reference to the music festival which Hamas targeted in the October 7th attacks. She said: “We are thinking of leaving the UK.” The mother said her youngest child was starting her GCSEs but revealed “once she’s done with school it’s a real possibility”. She added: “We don’t want to live like this” after experiencing the aftermath of Wednesday’s stabbing and the Hatzola ambulance arson attack.
She said she saw the alleged attacker running past her shop before she had to close. She said: “How is it that less than five minutes down the road someone was brandishing a knife and no one stopped him.” She added that promises of extra policing were welcome but said: “It’s a little bit late. It’s lovely we’ve been promised there will be extra police and extra security but we actually don’t want to live like this. In the end Golders Green will become a walled city.” Deborah added: “We want to live in peace.”
Pattern of Attacks
Speaking to Ben reminded me this was the third time in a matter of weeks I’d been to this area of North London. It started with the horrendous arson attacks on the ambulances. Then there was a Molotov cocktail thrown at a synagogue in Harrow. And now this sickening attack. Everyone we spoke to felt the same. They were angry but defiant. As another Shomrim patrol car went by and the 83 and 210 buses returned to their usual routes, there was little sign of police.
Shoppers stood outside the Gross Butchers and Leon’s Fruit shop shaking their heads and discussing the latest attacks. Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg from the New North London Synagogue said: “Earlier this morning somebody just coming past us said ‘where is the police? They were everywhere here yesterday, but right now they’re not present’ so right now the presence of the police will be to a degree reassuring and is really important and it is certainly welcome. Ultimately it is not an absolute solution because we have to look at the causes of this hate and the Jewish community doesn’t want ultimately to live behind walls but to be free and to be open in practicing our faith, like we wish other communities to be as well.”
Labour peer Lord Mann visited the scene to support the area. He told the Mirror: “We need to up our game. All of us - politicians, the police, journalists - the whole country. There needs to be a specific permanent additional police presence in this area in particular. It’s the centre of their community. People here have got to be protected.”
