For Jewish communities across Britain, the presence of armed police outside synagogues, schools, and celebrations has become a grimly familiar sight. Yet, the horrific terrorist attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney last week, coupled with the deadly assault outside a Manchester synagogue in October, has shattered any lingering sense of security. Many now feel that Britain is no longer a safe place for Jews.
A Community on Edge in Britain's Jewish Capital
The leafy north London suburb of Golders Green is widely considered the nation's Jewish capital. It retains a village-like atmosphere, where conversations about family and the cost of smoked salmon are commonplace. This is a community bound by shared traditions and a belief in safety through unity. However, that sense of safety has been violently torn away by recent events, leaving residents torn between staying or fleeing abroad.
Volunteers from the Community Security Trust (CST) now patrol the streets, schools have significantly ramped up security, and parents are constantly vigilant. Peyman Hakimi, owner of a traditional Kosher bakery in Temple Fortune, voiced a widespread fear: "Do I feel safe? No. With what is happening around the world and what happened in Manchester, why would I?"
"Everybody is on the edge," Hakimi told the Daily Mail. "They're all feeling tension, everybody is trying to plan to get out of the UK. Everybody says they want to move. I don't know anybody that says they want to stay here; they say there's no future for Jews in London anymore."
Record Antisemitism and a Heightened Threat Level
This anxiety is rooted in stark statistics. Antisemitism in the UK has reached an all-time high. Official data reveals that in the first six months of 2025 alone, there were:
- 84 cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property.
- 96 incidents of direct threats.
- 21 incidents of mass-produced antisemitic literature.
- 1,236 incidents of abusive behaviour.
As a result, the three largest Jewish schools in the UK and surrounding areas now operate under a heavy, and now standard, security presence. The attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur, which killed Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, remains a raw wound.
Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, stated: "The attack in Sydney was the most barbaric start to Chanukah we could have imagined. For Jews in Britain, we were immediately taken back to the attack in Manchester." He emphasised the pervasive fear that "it could have been here; it could have been us," noting ongoing UK trials involving plots for mass shootings of Jews.
One anonymous parent in Golders Green questioned her family's long-term future. "We're no longer in a position as Jewish parents to hide from our children how we feel," she said. "If we continue on this trajectory, I don't see myself here. My family have been here for four generations, but it's not the same country."
Daily Life Under the Shadow of Fear
The impact is felt in daily routines. Asmahan, who works in a Kosher cafe, described a community deeply affected. "Just yesterday I had a customer who started talking to me about what happened in Australia; she said she kept having nightmares," she said. "We can imagine something like that happening in Golders Green. I hear a noise and I get scared."
Some businesses have even changed policies, with staff now hesitant to allow non-customers to use toilets due to security concerns. Following the Manchester attack, footfall in local shops plummeted.
Despite the fear, there is immense pride in the community's heritage and resilience. Louise Toeman, who runs a family kosher fishmonger established in 1947, said, "We've got such an incredible community that I think if something untoward happened, the community would rally around completely."
Local butcher Aryeh Gavzey offered a nuanced view: "In general, I feel as safe as I've ever been, but that's always been a little unsafe. Being here in the Jewish areas I feel the safest."
The work of the CST is now more critical than ever. Dr Dave Rich, CST Director of Policy, explained that while antisemitism is an ancient hatred, "what's new in the last couple of years is that it is starting to really affect people's day-to-day lives." He confirmed that security levels, already high for two years, increased after Manchester and will likely rise again.
Sarah Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, who grew up in the area, vowed to fight the threat. "As a proud British Jew, I'll be damned if antisemites cause us to feel less safe and less welcome in our home," she said. While welcoming government support, including £10 million for the CST, she stressed that turning off the "tap of extremism" through education and enforcement is essential to safeguard Britain's thriving Jewish community.
