HAYI: The Iran-linked group claiming responsibility for stabbing of 2 Jewish men in London

It was like any other Wednesday. Until terror struck the streets of north London when two Jewish men were stabbed in what the police are now calling a terror attack.

Politicians across the spectrum condemned the attack; Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain”, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that “London’s Jewish community has been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks. There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society”.

The Iranian-linked Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed responsibility for the stabbing that unfolded at Golders Green in north London.

How did the attack unfold? Who are the victims and the suspect? We piece together the information and get you all the answers.

How did the attack at Golders Green unfold?

On Wednesday, around 11.16 am (local time), the Metropolitan Police received a call that people had been stabbed in Highfield Avenue, which runs off Golders Green Road.

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According to witnesses, a man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish members of the public. According to CCTV footage, the armed man approached another at a bus stop and repeatedly attacked the man waiting there, who he then pushed onto the road and out of view.

The other was walking down a street when he was stabbed and yelled at the attacker before managing to run away.

Soon after, the police arrived on the scene, and their body-camera footage shows them shouting at the armed suspect, ‘drop the knife’. The authorities then tasered the suspect and can be seen administering CPR to the suspect. He was later stretchered away.

A police forensics officer photographs shoes and clothes at a crime scene on Golders Green Road, in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, after two people were stabbed, and a suspect arrested. AFP

The stabbing, which has been termed a terror attack, has been condemned by all leaders. King Charles, who was in the US at the time of the event, said he was “deeply concerned” in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who convened an emergency meeting of senior ministers and officials, noted, “The government is taking action in relation to security, cohesion, and extremism. But of course it’s our responsibility to coordinate the immediate response here to this appalling attack, to ensure security is in place.”

Who are the victims and the suspect?

The two men stabbed in the incident have been identified as Jewish men — Shilome Rand (34) and Moshe Shine (76). Both of them are stable in the hospital after the stabbing.

Meanwhile, the suspect has been identified as a 45-year-old man, with the authorities noting that he is a British national, born in Somalia.

Items are pictured strewn in the road inside a Police cordon on Golders Green Road, in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, after two people were stabbed. AFP

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said officers confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent and continued to pose a clear threat”.

He added that officers feared the suspect was carrying an explosive device and tasered him while he continued to stab them.

The suspect had a history of serious violence and mental health issues, he added in a statement at the scene on Wednesday afternoon. The Met said officers were also carrying out a search at an address in south-east London.

Who's behind the stabbing?

Shortly after the stabbing, the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), an alleged Iranian front group, claimed responsibility for the incident. In a video statement, the little-known group said, “Zionists were targeted by our lone wolves in the Golders Green Area of London. The heroic act left two Zionists critically wounded and on the brink of death.

“Historically, the Jews are the killers of Jesus Christ, and today the Zionists are the killers of innocent women and children. We call upon all free people in the world, especially Muslims, to carry out qualitative operations in defence of humanity, occupied Palestine, al-Aqsa Mosque, and the prisoners. Furthermore, anyone who is able to kill Zionists should not hesitate.”

A police officer stands at the scene where two people were stabbed, in Golders Green neighbourhood. AP

HAYI has become quite known for its spate of attacks on Jewish sites in Europe, starting with an attack on a synagogue in Liège, Belgium on March 9. An improvised explosive detonated, shattering windows, but causing no injuries.

Later, the group allegedly carried out an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on March 13, in which four people were arrested. This was followed by an explosion outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam, a day later. No injuries were reported.

HAYI has also called on Americans to kill US President Donald Trump. The group has claimed that Christians like the gunman at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Cole Tomas Allen, had joined their operations.

However, investigators stated that there was little evidence of Iran’s involvement in the Golders Green attack and that the statements made by HAYI were opportunistic.

According to a report in The Guardian, HAYI is not considered to exist in its own right. It began as a simple Telegram channel with a modest 200 followers in March, then disappeared later that month and reappeared under a different name. The working assumption is that it is a cutout, a front for an Iranian state agency, whether Iran’s Revolutionary Guard or the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, seeking to stoke fear in European Jewish communities.

Are Jews under attack in the UK?

The stabbing at Golders Green has once again raised concerns about the safety of the Jewish community living in the UK.

Moshie, a 20-year-old resident of the area, voiced his fears to AFP. “Whenever I look around, I have one thing in mind. Does this person have a knife? That’s our life now,” he said.

People attend a protest in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, following the stabbing of two people. AFP

Israel Morgenstein, 48, who has lived in the area for 15 years, told The Guardian:​ “We are thinking now that maybe it’s time to go home. We don’t feel safe. We’re not scared, but we don’t feel safe. I believe that the police are doing an amazing job, and the government supports them as much as they can. But I don’t think they are trained to deal with such situations, and this is our worry.”

Such remarks come after numerous attacks against the Jewish community in the UK in the recent past.

In fact, just two days before the stabbing at Golders Green, there was a suspected arson attack at a memorial wall in the area.

Earlier, the Kenton United Synagogue was firebombed, causing minor smoke damage to a room, but no injuries. On April 15, arsonists also attempted to attack the Finchley Reform Synagogue in London by placing bottles with accelerants next to the synagogue and throwing a brick at it.

Also, on March 23, four Hatzalah ambulances in Golders Green were set ablaze. Multiple cylinders in the vehicles exploded, breaking windows in nearby flats. Four people have been charged.

Police have arrested 28 people in total over the various attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.

Data collected by the Community Security Trust, a charity set up to protect British Jews, shows that there have been an average of 308 antisemitic incidents every single month in the UK, exactly double the monthly average of 154 incidents reported in the year preceding October 7.

As Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi, said, “Such attacks need to stop now. Zero tolerance – that’s what our community wants.”

With inputs from agencies