Echo Comment on the aftermath of the attacks in Golders Green

The attacks on the two “visibly Jewish” people in Golders Green are inexcusable – the situation in Gaza should have no bearing on the fate of two innocent civilians in London.

The dangers that Jewish people are facing, from firebombed ambulances to the deaths at the Manchester synagogue, are down to racism. They should be called out as such and there is never any justification for racism in any form.

Keir Starmer quickly announced £25m for additional police patrols around Jewish synagogues, schools and community centres to show that he is taking the problem seriously but really these are 25 million condemnations of the state of Britain today. In this great, tolerant, welcoming country, we shouldn’t need police patrolling schools and places of worship to keep people – to keep children – safe as they go about their lawful business.

While the government can do much to address the problem, this is both an international infection and a grassroots condition. It feeds off the way the world is violently divided at the moment but it also comes from the hatred we see on the marches, on social media and in our bitterly divided politics.

As individuals, we can’t do much to influence world affairs, but we can call out the racism – the hatred of people who are different to us – that is creeping all around us.