A moving fact has emerged the day after the stabbing attack in the Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green in London: two Israelis who drove by during the incident recognized the danger, shouted warnings to bystanders, and pursued the terrorist, Israel’s Kan Moreshet reported on Thursday.

Golders Green resident Srulik Morgenstern, who arrived at the scenes moments after the incident, told Kan Moreshet that the two Israelis just happened to be driving by when the attack began. They quickly recognized the threat, began shouting to warn the public, and even chased the terrorist in an effort to prevent further casualties.

“They shouted ‘He has a knife’ and pushed people away from the area. They saved lives—no question,” Morgenstern said. “They were melachim from Shamayim.”

Local police arrived within minutes, but members of the Golders Green community criticized the police over how the incident was characterized. A police commander said the suspect was a person with mental health issues—a statement that sparked anger.

“It’s an attempt to downplay the incident,” Morgenstern said. “Someone who wakes up, takes a knife, and goes out to stab people knows exactly what he’s doing.”

It should be noted that the terrorist, a British national born in Somalia, was known to the UK’s Prevent program, a statutory counter-terrorism initiative aimed at stopping people from being drawn into terrorism by identifying and supporting vulnerable individuals at an early stage.

The attack left the local Jewish community deeply shaken. “Antisemitism has always been here, but not like this,” Morgenstern explained. “Something has broken. Suddenly there’s fear—parents are afraid to let children go alone to the grocery store or shul.”

He added that despite the presence of community security organizations, the feeling is that reality has changed: “It’s no longer theoretical. It’s reached our doorstep.”

Morgenstern, who was born in Israel and has lived in London since 1999, also pointed to a broader trend: “We live here comfortably, but events like this remind us where our real home is. If things are difficult anyway, better that it be in Israel.”

At the same time, he called on the State of Israel to encourage aliyah: “Make us feel at home there too—that could bring thousands back.”

Meanwhile, the Jewish kehilla in Golders Green is focusing on tefillos for the victims’ recovery—and trying to process the unusual incident, which has left not only physical injuries but also a new sense of insecurity.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)