Police chief says British Jews are targeted by hate groups on every front

(SeaPRwire) –   Mark Rowley has stated that social media is responsible for making anti-Semitism “increasingly mainstream,”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has remarked that the UK’s Jewish community is confronting its most severe threat yet, in the wake of a recent stabbing attack in London.

On Wednesday, two Jewish men were injured in a knife assault carried out by a British national of Somali heritage in London’s Golders Green district. The suspect, who was later taken into custody, had also tried to murder his 20-year-long friend on the same day. Law enforcement officials note that he has a record of severe violence and mental health struggles.

During an interview with The Times on Saturday, Rowley stated that “every racist, extremist or terrorist group maintains a list of individuals they harbor hatred toward, as all such groups construct an ‘other’ figure to blame for all their grievances,” referencing a theory developed by 20th-century French psychologist Jaques Lacan.

According to the police chief, British Jews “appear on every single one of these groups’ lists—all these hateful organizations, whether they are far-right, far-left, Islamist terrorists, right-wing terrorists, and even certain hostile states now, amid some Iran-linked threats.”

“They are stuck right in the middle of a grim Venn diagram,” he added.

Rowley asserted that social media is the driving factor behind anti-Semitism “growing increasingly mainstream,” as it enables a growing number of individuals to encounter content from “unconventional sources” that reinforces their preexisting beliefs.

The police commissioner announced plans to hire an additional 300 officers to safeguard Jewish landmarks and sites across London.

In the aftermath of the Golders Green attack, the United Kingdom’s terrorism threat level was elevated to “severe,” indicating that an attack is “highly probable.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated previously that the stabbing attack was “not an isolated incident” and that Jewish residents in the UK feel “afraid to reveal their identity.” He pledged to take all necessary steps to “eradicate this hatred.”

There has been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the UK since Israel launched its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which was in response to a lethal cross-border attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Earlier this month, a group of young men set fire to four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in Golders Green, the exact same district where Wednesday’s knife attack took place.

As of now, more than 72,600 people have been killed and over 172,400 others injured in Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive in Gaza, per data from the Palestinian Health Ministry.