2 Jewish men were stabbed in April in same area

‘Are you Jewish?’ Israeli attacked by group of men in Golders Green after speaking Hebrew

Shalev Ben Yakar says Arabic-speaking men dragged him across the road in heavily Jewish London neighborhood, tore his clothes and beat him until he almost lost consciousness

An Israeli man was attacked in London’s Golders Green neighborhood on Monday, sustaining severe cuts and bruises to his face and body, after he was heard speaking Hebrew by a group of Arabic-speaking men, in what police are treating as an antisemitic hate crime.

Police were searching for the attackers of 22-year-old Shalev Ben Yakar in the northwest London neighborhood, which has a large Jewish community. Last month, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green in an antisemitic terror attack.

Ben Yakar, who often comes to London to visit family, was reported to have stepped outside his apartment to make a phone call around 2 a.m., so as not to disturb his roommates.

According to Ben Yakar, who spoke with Ynet, five or six men approached after hearing him speak Hebrew, and asked if he was Jewish. After Ben Yakar replied in the affirmative, he said, the men began “punching me, kicking me,” and screaming “Jew, Jew” in Arabic.

Ben Yakar said he was dragged across the road where the men tore at his clothes.

As someone who visits often, he said he sees London becoming more and more dangerous to the Jews who live there.

“It’ll get worse. For sure. Something needs to be done here,” he said.

Police reportedly told him that some of the assailants are known to them.

UK lawmaker for Golders Green Sarah Sackman called the attack “intolerable” and said she spoke with Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.

“The recent spate of antisemitic attacks and terror have struck fear into the heart of our community and I am pushing for more action at every level,” she added.

The Jewish Leadership Council posted online that “this is yet another appalling attack in the heart of the Jewish community in Golders Green. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family. There must be a robust response from law enforcement which demonstrates that those who violently attack Jews will face the full force of the law.”

A spokesperson for the nonprofit Community Security Trust said they were providing support to the victim.

“This was a violent and appalling attack in the heart of Golders Green. The incident is being treated by the Metropolitan Police as an antisemitic hate crime, and we thank them for their swift response. At a time of heightened antisemitism, incidents like this underline the very real dangers facing Jewish communities,” the group said in a statement.

The incident was the latest in a spate of attacks that have left Jewish communities fearing for their safety, prompting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to vow stronger action.

The UK’s terrorism threat level was raised three weeks ago to the second-highest level of “severe,” amid the attacks on the Jewish community, with security officials citing the “broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat.”

In April, two British Jews were stabbed by an assailant outside a synagogue in Golders Green. On Yom Kippur, in October, two Jewish men were killed in a terror attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, northern England.