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Man arrested after brandishing knife at kosher supermarket in Golders Green, London
LONDON (JTA) — Workers and shoppers at a family-owned kosher supermarket in one of London’s most Jewish neighborhoods fended off a knife-wielding attacker who was demanding to know whether its owners supported “Israel or Palestine” on Monday.
Police arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of “racially-aggravated affray” after the man allegedly returned to the supermarket following a first confrontation with staff there.
The attack at Kay’s Local in the northwest London neighborhood of Golders Green took place on Monday afternoon. There were no injuries reported, despite a physical struggle outside the store.
“This guy came into the shop and started asking one of the cashiers: ‘Who do you support, is it Israel or Palestine,’” an employee called Moishe told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The 18-year-old declined to give his last name, citing security concerns.
“The cashier said: ‘We’re neutral, you can support who you want, I can support who I want,’” he added. “Eventually, he left the shop, but came back a minute later.”
The 34-year-old man, who was bearded and hooded, was ushered outside of the Hamilton Road store “where he started speaking about it again,” Moishe recounted.
The attacker then grabbed the neck of 18-year-old Yosef Chaim, who then tried to tackle the man. “I learned Krav Maga at school and other martial arts,” Yosef told the Jewish Chronicle.
Moishe said the assailant was clutching a blue knife behind his back. “He tried stabbing him, attacking him. [Yosef] took a trolley and pushed him over, and then he went into the shop again to try and protect himself.”
Those in the shop grabbed items including a broomstick and a children’s scooter as they tried to fight off the attacker. Yosef’s father, shopkeeper Eyvatar Reitman, 48, told the Jewish Chronicle, “I could see the hate in his eyes. He looked like he came in looking for a fight.”
The attacker was tackled by volunteers from Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish neighborhood watch group in London, and officers from the Metropolitan Police. Videos posted on social media showed him struggling with officers.
The incident comes as local Jews are on edge amid a spike in antisemitic incidents and sustained displays of anti-Israel sentiment in London since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Data from the Community Security Trust, a Jewish security group, indicated that antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom rose to record levels since Oct. 7, with 2,093 incidents reported in the 68 days after the attack. In one notable incident last week that police are investigating as a hate crime, three Jews in London said they had been attacked by a large group because they were speaking Hebrew.
Nobody was injured in the fighting with the attacker, who crossed the road after being fought off. “He then went into his house and changed his clothes,” Moishe said. “He left his weapon in there.”
Kay’s Local is going to “try and get security,” Moishe said, adding, “London’s not safe.”
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that officers were called to respond “to reports of a man with a knife in Hamilton Road” at 1:27 p.m. Just over 10 minutes later, it said, it took a man into custody. “A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and racially-aggravated affray,” the police said.
The statement added that the incident was not being treated as “terror-related.”
Inspector Scott Barden-Marshall added: “I know this incident will cause concern in the community. Officers responded quickly and made an arrest within 10 minutes. An investigation is now under way to establish the circumstances.”
The Community Security Trust urged “the community to remain vigilant and alert.”
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The post Man arrested after brandishing knife at kosher supermarket in Golders Green, London appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire
Members of the Security Council cast a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, US, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.”
“We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program,” Guterres said.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran’s enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, “no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage.”
Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran’s sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again.
“Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran requested the U.N. Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel‘s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the U.S. strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.”
The post UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
The post Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
The post Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.