Communities across Brighton & Hove stand together as One Voice

We are appalled at the antisemitic terror attack on Wednesday morning in Golders Green that targeted two Jewish men going about their daily lives.

The city’s One Voice Partnership strongly condemns this act of violence; targeting of individuals for being visibly Jewish is racist.  Terrorism and violence against innocent people are completely unacceptable to us all.   

This attack comes amid a worrying pattern of targeted incidents against Jewish people and sites, including the terror attack on Heaton Park synagogue last year.   

Mahir Chowdhury, the Chair of the Racial Harassment Forum said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Shloime Rand and Moshe Shine, their families, and our Jewish communities at this deeply distressing time.

"We have long known that visibility, especially of minority and faith communities has led to increased racist targeting. We understand the impact of repeated targeting of communities and how it creates an environment that prevents people from living their lives fully. We should all be able to live our lives, practice our faith, and go about our daily lives without fear."

The Brighton & Hove One Voice Partnership reaffirms that we stand in solidarity with our Jewish communities, together against antisemitism and racism, however it manifests.

Anthea Ballam, Chair of the Interfaith Contact Group of Brighton and Hove said: "Any attack on any single faith or racial group is an attack on all of us.

"This is a moment to accept the importance of compassion and understanding.

"The most effective way that we can heal when faced with this kind of mindless violence is to reach out to each other, as family and friends, value and honour all our communities in this City and beyond and offer our total support."

Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: "Terrorism and racist violence is sickening, and it represents an attack on our way of life.

"We stand unequivocally with our Jewish communities and against antisemitism in all its forms.

"We reject division, hatred and intimidation. We will continue to work with partners and communities to ensure the safety, dignity and wellbeing of our Jewish residents and all who live in our city."

Michael Collyer, the Chair of the City of Sanctuary said: "From our experiences as City of Sanctuary, we know how important it is to show genuine respect and recognise that authentic relationships require both empathy and action.  As communities and residents, we need to translate our welcoming approach and support for all into meaningful actions. We should be showing solidarity with our Jewish communities, whom we all recognise have had historical experiences of persecution and have been refugees as well as supporting refugees."

Jess Gibbons, the council's chief executive and the chair of the One Voice Partnership, said: "Our Jewish community should be able to feel safe to practice and demonstrate faith without the threat of terrorism, violence, or hostility.

"The Council in partnership with police, One Voice, and our communities continues to work to uphold our city values of respect for all, fairness, equality, and diversity.

"We work to keep our residents and communities safe in this city, where we all belong."

The police and other agencies continue to work to keep the public safe.

Terrorism Threat Level

Threat from UK to all forms of terrorism has been increased to Severe (meaning an attack is highly likely) on 30th April 2026.  It had remained at Substantial (meaning an attack is likely) since 9th February 2022.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) is responsible for setting the threat level for the UK from terrorism.  Threat levels are kept under regular review, and the assessment considers several factors, it is not solely a result of the Golders Green attack.

The threat of individuals or smaller groups acting on their own, inspired by their online activity or by other groups or causes (such as Al-Qaida, Daesh of affiliated ideologies and extreme right wing) is part of the current terrorist threat in the UK.  State linked threats and encouragement to violence are also part of the recent threat picture.

Residents should remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police.

Reporting suspicious activities

Co-operation between the public and the police is the greatest asset in tackling the challenge the UK faces from terrorism.

Sussex Police and Brighton & Hove City Council ask our residents and communities to remain aware and to report any suspicious behaviour or activity immediately by calling 999 in an emergency or the confidential anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321

You can use online form to report suspicious or terrorist activity: How to report possible terrorist activity | Metropolitan Police

Report illegal terrorist information, pictures or videos you’ve found on the internet. 

Further resources: Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) and Prevent on the council website.

Please Remember to Follow ‘RUN, HIDE, TELL’

Counter Terrorism Policing’s three key steps for keeping safe in the event of a firearms or weapons attack:

  • RUN If it’s safe, this is the best option.
  • HIDE If you can’t run, hide.
  • TELL the police by calling 999 when it’s safe to do so.

Reporting hate incidents and seeking support

Everyone in Brighton & Hove has a right to feel safe. One Voice members urge everyone to be aware and encourage residents and communities to report any racist, religiously motivated, and all forms of hate incidents within our communities.

Our community safety casework team works closely with the police and our communities to prevent anti-social behaviour and hate incidents and support people affected.

If you have been a victim of a hate incident, our community safety team are here to support you and provide advice. You can contact our team by:

If you are worried or concerned about how the incident has affected you or any of your communities, please do advise Prevent Lead Officer on Channel.Prevent@brighton-hove.gov.uk and we will ensure that together with other statutory partners we will respond to community concerns.

Specialist and Community Support

The Sussex Jewish Representative Council, in coordination with the Community Security Trust (CST) and Sussex Police, have launched a designated hate crime reporting service so that people can report antisemitic incidents in a safe environment.  

Please contact JCARS@sussexjewishrepresentativecouncil.org and we will contact you to arrange a phone call or in-person meeting to help you make a report.  

Please also remember that the Community Security Trust and British Muslim Trust continue to provide reporting and support services available to our local communities about antisemitism and anti-Muslim/ Islamophobic incidents respectively.

Anti-racist city

The council has pledged to be an anti-racist council and our anti-racism strategy sets out how we will use our resources and change what we do to actively dismantle racist structures and challenge racial inequality.