London Woman Arrested for Chasing Children With Knife, Shouting 'Kill All You Jews'
It may not have qualified as a terrorist incident in the eyes of London police, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t terrorizing for a group of Jewish children.
A woman who was brandishing a 10-inch kitchen knife allegedly chased a group of children Sunday night who had just left a synagogue in north London. The woman was heard screaming, “I want to kill all you Jews.”
Reports said a group of more than a dozen children, between the ages of 8-13, were the subject of the woman’s rage.
Jewish neighborhood watch group Shomrim said it observed the incident and called the police.
“Police attended and the woman, aged 47, was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence,” the Metro Police said in a statement. “At this time, the female remains in custody at an east London police station. She is expected to undergo a mental health assessment in due course.”
But according to a police report obtained by the UK Metro, “This incident is not terror related.”
#Shomrim alerted @metpoliceuk to a female running after kids with a knife shouting “I want to kill all you Jews” suspected arrested by @MPSHaringey on Gladesmore Road #N15 pic.twitter.com/E9NXg1y0Tx
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) June 17, 2018
One has to wonder if the event would have been categorized a terrorist event if the situation were reversed, and someone of Jewish descent had threatened to kill a group of Muslim children.
The incident is the latest in two growing trends: Knife crime and anti-semitic incidents.
Although Britain has strict gun control laws, Britain’s Office of National Statistics showed that in September 2017, knife crime had risen 21 percent over the past year.
The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee reported the city’s murder rate has increased 44 percent through March.
Other crimes also rose. London data showed a roughly 33 percent increase in violent robbery and burglary, a 30 percent increase in youth killings, and an 18 percent increase in rapes. Shootings rose 23 percent, the report said.
According to a report released in January by the Community Security Trust, the number of anti-Semitic attacks recorded in the United Kingdom rose slightly in 2017 to 1,382 cases, the highest total recorded thus far. The number marks a 3-percent increase over the previous year.
Figures released by CST last July found that there were 767 anti-Semitic attacks in the first half of 2017, the highest figure recorded within six months since monitoring began in 1984.
“This is another worrying incident of knife crime in London coupled with hate/antisemitic crime,” said Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Shomrim, according to the UK Independent. “Much more needs to be done to tackle and stop this terrible scourge which is tragically running rampant in our city.”
Is London’s rising crime rate a reflection on the country’s swelling immigrant population?
Not according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has said the rise in crime is due to spending cuts by Britain’s government.
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