The Farming Express The Farming Express Jan iss4 | Page 18

Jewish Londoners fear for their safety after Paris attacks

Politicians and police in Britain have
spoken of “heightened concern” in Jewish
communities following the terror attacks in
France that included the killing of four men
at a kosher supermarket. So what has been
the impact on people living and working
in Jewish areas, such as London’s Golders
Green?
“An attack in our community is inevitable.”
Israel Morgenstern is bracing himself for a
terror attack aimed at the Jewish community
in Britain. “It’s going to come. It all depends
how and where.”
Mr Morgenstern, 37, who lives in Golders
Green but is originally from Israel, is married
with three children, and says he has a weight
on his mind whenever he sends them off to
school.
While he is talking, he points out three police
cars which pass by, and also says that he
welcomes local patrols conducted by the
Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish
security charity.
However, he says that he does not know “how
much they would be able to help” in the event
of an attack. “Maybe, just maybe they would

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alert the police two minutes earlier.
“I like it in this country, I prefer it to Israel.
We want to relax here, but we can’t right
now.”
‘On edge’
Lord Sacks, former chief rabbi of the
United Hebrew Congregations of the
Commonwealth, said that that anxiety levels
among British Jews are at an “all-time high”
in his lifetime.
However, he adds that “the most recent
survey shows that the overwhelming number
of Jews in Britain feel safe here. It remains
one of the most tolerant societies on earth”.
The threat has been a background noise for
many years, he says. “We are used to it, we
are well prepared. This is well under control.”
Along with the visible increased police
presence in Jewish areas of London,
“internally our security level has risen”, he
says.
At one of the area’s largest kosher
supermarkets, all appears to be business
as usual. But its manager Chuny Rokach
says that, since the Paris attacks, anxious
customers have been phoning and emailing
him to ask what security measures the shop
has in place.
“We’ve trained our staff on what to do if there
is an incident - how to communicate, where
the exits are,” he says.
“They have radios, and we’ve checked our
CCTV to make sure it’s effective. People
are still shopping, but our customers are
definitely on edge. “
Mr Rokach is in daily contact with the CST,

but says he wants to see more police actually
walking the beat, not just driving up and
down the main road.
“The police haven’t been in touch to talk to us
about security. We haven’t had any issues, but
obviously it’s a concern.
“You do see some extra patrols on Saturdays
and Sundays, but we’ve communicated
through the CST that we’d like to see a more
visible police presence in the area.”
Party security
The authorities say they are listening to
concerns. On Friday, Met Police assistant
commissioner Mark Rowley, the national
policing lead for counter-terrorism, said a
security review was under way, and that
police were holding talks about providing
“more patrols in key areas”.
It is a measure that has been welcomed by
leaders in the Jewish community, while some
individuals are also taking their own steps in
order to feel safe.
Frances Bronzite, 64, is visiting Golders
Green from her home in Redbridge, Essex, to
buy supplies for her son’s engagement party.
She consulted with the CST about the party,
and was advised that they should arrange to
have security present.
“I told my son, and I thought he’d laugh, but
he said, ‘No mum, they’re right,’” she says.
“It’s a party at his fiancee’s house for about
200 people. They told us we should have
security on the door.
“That never would have occurred to us
before.”

Mrs Bronzite says it is not just the threat of
Islamist ext