Man who stabbed 2 Jews in Golders Green to stand trial next year, London court hears

Essa Suleiman, 45, appears in court via video link, he is accused of April 29 attempted murder of two Jewish men who were seriously wounded, and of an acquaintance that same day

A 45-year-old man will stand trial on March 1, 2027, for the attempted murder of two Jewish men and a fellow member of the Somali community in London last month, the capital’s Old Bailey court heard Friday.

Essa Suleiman, a Somali-born British citizen, is accused of stabbing longtime acquaintance in south London on April 29, then traveling to north London’s Golders Green neighborhood, which has a large Jewish community, and stabbing two visibly Orthodox Jewish men.

The acquaintance suffered minor injuries, while the two Jews respectively suffered a punctured lung and injuries to the head, neck, chest and abdomen, according to prosecutors.

Suleiman is charged with three counts of attempted murder and another count of possession of a bladed article. He remains in custody.

According to the BBC, Suleiman attended the Old Bailey hearing on Friday via video link from Belmarsh Prison, confirmed his name and date of birth and sat with his arms folded. He was not asked to enter pleas to any of the four charges he faces.

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

British and other diaspora Jewish communities have seen an uptick in antisemitic attacks amid the war in Gaza that was sparked by the October 7 attack, and amid the war on the Iranian regime that was launched by Israel and the US on February 28.

On Yom Kippur, in October, two Jewish men were killed in a terror attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, northern England.