LONDON (JTA) – Employees and shoppers at a family-run kosher supermarket in one of London’s most Jewish areas demanded to know on Monday whether the owner supported “Israel or Palestine” He fought off the knife-wielding attacker.
Police arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of “racial riot” after he allegedly returned to the supermarket after an initial confrontation with a supermarket employee.
The attack at Kay’s Local in the Golders Green area of northwest London took place on Monday afternoon. Despite a violent struggle outside the store, no injuries were reported.
“This man came into the store and started asking one of the cashiers, ‘Who do you support, Israel or Palestine?'” an employee called Moishe told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The 18-year-old declined to give his last name, citing safety concerns.
“The cashier said, ‘We’re neutral. You can support who you want, I can support who I want,'” he added. “Eventually he left the store, but a minute later he came back.”
Mr Moishe said the 34-year-old man, who had a beard and a hood over his head, was escorted outside the Hamilton Road store, where he “started talking about it again”.
The suspect then grabbed 18-year-old Yosef Chaim by the neck and tried to tackle him. “I learned Krav Maga and other martial arts in school,” Yosef told the Jewish Chronicle.
Moishe said the assailant was clutching a blue knife behind his back. “He tried to stab him, he tried to attack him. [Yosef] They pushed him down on a trolley, then he re-entered the store to protect himself. ”
People inside the store tried to fight off the attackers, stealing items such as broomsticks and children’s scooters. Yosef’s father, store owner Eivatar Reitman, 48, told the Jewish Chronicle: He looked like he came looking for a fight. ”
Volunteers from Shomrim, London’s volunteer Jewish neighborhood watch group, and police officers from the Metropolitan Police tackled the attacker. Video posted on social media showed him struggling with officers.
The incident comes amid a surge in anti-Semitic incidents in London since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and a growing sense of crisis among local Jews amid persistent anti-Israel sentiment. I woke up inside. Anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have risen to record levels since October 7, with 2,093 incidents reported in the 68 days after the attacks, according to data from the Community Security Trust, a Jewish security organization. It was done. In a high-profile incident last week that police are investigating as a hate crime, three Jewish people in London claimed they were attacked by a large group because they spoke Hebrew.
No one was injured in the struggle with the assailants, but the assailants were able to cross the road after being repulsed. “He then went into the house and changed his clothes,” Moishe said. “He left his weapon there.”
Kay’s Local is “trying to be safe,” Moishe said, adding: “London is not safe.”
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that officers were called to “reports of a man with a knife on Hamilton Road” at 1.27pm and took the man into custody just over 10 minutes later. Police said: “A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and racial violence.”
The statement added that the incident was not being treated as “terrorism-related.”
Inspector Scott Baden-Marshall added: “We are aware that this incident causes concern in the community. Officers responded quickly and made an arrest within 10 minutes. An investigation is currently underway to establish the circumstances.”
The Community Security Trust called on “communities to remain vigilant and vigilant”.