UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced a hostile reception during his visit to Golders Green on Thursday, where he met with Hatzola emergency response workers following a terror attack that left two Jewish men stabbed. The visit, which took place at the Hatzola ambulance service headquarters, was met with boos, jeers, and chants from a crowd of about 200 protesters. Many held posters reading “Keir Starmer Jew harmer,” distributed by the direct action group Stop the Hate, which opposes pro-Palestinian marches.
Protests and Criticism
As Starmer’s convoy arrived, protesters shouted “Keir Starmer is a joker” and “Starmer, Jew harmer.” Moshe, a 20-year-old shop worker, said he felt betrayed by Starmer’s decision not to visit the stabbing scene but instead attend a closed meeting a 15-minute walk away. “If he wanted to show support, that is what he should have done,” he said. Downing Street declined to comment on the limited visit.
Inside the Meeting
Inside Hatzola’s headquarters, Starmer thanked volunteers from the ambulance service and Shomrim, a community security group whose member helped police tackle the assailant. The stabbings, declared a terrorist incident by the Met police, have sparked demands for action beyond reassuring words, amid a concerted terror campaign against the UK’s Jewish community.
Political Reactions
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch visited the scene on Wednesday, calling antisemitism a “national emergency.” In Golders Green, residents questioned why Starmer had not done the same. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, arrived early on Thursday to lead the lunchtime news, speaking to broadcasters and locals near the stabbing site. He criticized the government as “weak, weak” on pro-Palestinian marches and promised to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and ban the Muslim Brotherhood.
Farage also pledged financial support to Shomrim, saying, “I just met the boys from Shomrim who were first on the ground and clearly they are going to need a lot more help and support, and a little bit of central funding wouldn’t go amiss.” He brushed off allegations of his own antisemitism, calling them “nonsense.”
Peter Ettedgui, a Bafta-winning director who claims Farage targeted him with antisemitic abuse at school, said, “The idea that the guy who used to hiss ‘gas them’ at me and tell me that ‘Hitler was right’ is now putting himself forward as the protector of the Jewish community is grotesque and frightening.”
Local Perspectives
Ben Grossnass, a Shomrim volunteer, met both Farage and Starmer. He agreed with Farage’s analysis and expressed the community’s concerns to the prime minister, including that Holocaust survivors were leaving the country out of fear. “There was a mad man looking to kill anyone visibly Jewish,” Grossnass said. “How could people stay quiet?” Starmer promised change, Grossnass added.
Jake Dayan, a real estate developer, supported Farage’s tough stance on immigration, saying, “I think anyone who wants to take a tough stance on immigration is doing the most for the Jewish community.”
