British Jews are facing their greatest ever threat, the head of the Metropolitan Police has warned in the wake of the Golders Green stabbing.
Sir Mark Rowley said that Jews were facing a “ghastly Venn diagram” of hate from all sides, and warned antisemitism was a growing threat to their safety because of social media, in an interview with the Times.
The Met Commissioner’s warning comes just two days after a stabbing at Golders Green, in which two Jewish men were injured.
It is the latest in a number of incidents where the Jewish community has been targeted.
Speaking to the Times, Sir Mark said: “Every racist or extremist or terrorist group has a list of people they hate because they all create an ‘other’ who they want to blame everything on and visit everything on.
“The ghastly fact is that Jews are on everybody’s list, all of those hateful groups, whether you’re extreme right, whether you’re extreme left, whether you’re Islamist terrorist, whether you’re right-wing terrorist, and some hostile states as well now with some sort of Iranian-related threats. There’s a ghastly Venn diagram that they’re at the middle of.”
The “social media-led” news ecosystem which has developed online means more people are getting their views from “non-traditional sources”, Sir Mark said, adding that antisemitism was “becoming more and more mainstreamed”.
The Met Commissioner also revealed he has requested urgent funding to recruit 300 officers to protect the Jewish community, with plans for a dedicated group of police to patrol north west London.
Sir Mark also defended the two officers who detained the suspect in the Golders Green attack.
In footage shared on social media, the officers appeared to kick the 45-year-old suspect in the head after they had used a Taser to force him to the ground.
The Met chief and Sir Keir Starmer were both highly critical of Green Party leader Zack Polanski after he shared a social media post which accused the officers who detained the suspect of acting “violently”.
Sir Mark told the Times: “One of the Taser shots has connected but he’s still not giving up the knife. It’s pretty obvious the sort of suspicion they’re going to have that he may have an explosive device.”
He said he had spoken to the officers two hours after the incident took place, adding: “It’s very traumatic for them. They’ve got to live with that.”
The Prime Minister had earlier defended the two officers in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
He told the BBC: “There’s a guy on the ground, he’s got a rucksack on. And I don’t know what was going through the mind of those officers, but if I was there, I’d be thinking, he’s going to detonate something. He’s going to blow me up and everybody around here.
“In those circumstances, I think you can quite see why what could have gone through their mind is, we need to do whatever we can to disable this guy.”
The Prime Minister also branded Mr Polanski “disgraceful” and “not fit to lead any political party” for reposting the criticism of police officers.
The Green leader has apologised for “sharing a tweet in haste”.
But Mr Polanski then hit back, saying in response to a clip of the Prime Minister’s interview: “Yesterday in Hastings, in the wake of antisemitic attacks in Golders Green, I faced Nazi salutes.
“Today the Prime Minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points.”
Mr Polanski is expected to meet Sir Mark following the local elections on May 7, to discuss matters related to his apology, the Met confirmed.
Earlier, the Director of Public Prosecutions warned of a “deeply troubling rise” in antisemitic incidents across the country, as he vowed to use the “full force of the law” against perpetrators.
The UK terrorism threat level was raised to “severe” by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, meaning a terror attack is “highly likely”, following the Golders Green attack.
Yesterday in Hastings, in the wake of antisemitic attacks in Golders Green, I faced Nazi salutes.
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) May 1, 2026
Today the Prime Minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points. https://t.co/xYTc6NvX4G
Suspect Essa Suleiman appeared in court on Friday charged with thee counts of attempted murder, including of his own friend before allegedly stabbing two Jewish men, Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76.
Suleiman, who was born in Somalia and came to the UK legally as a child in the 1990s, was remanded in custody until the next hearing at the Old Bailey on May 15.
