North West London Shomrim volunteer Yonaton El-Kouby’s only thought was protecting the community when he received a report of an incident in the Golders Green neighborhood. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, he recounted how he helped Metropolitan Police officers subdue a suspect who had stabbed two Jewish residents earlier that day.
El-Kouby had been in Hendon at the time when he got the emergency call, but wasn’t aware of the stabbings and wounded community members. The Jewish neighborhood watch volunteer raced over to find the suspect being chased by police officers. El-Kouby said that he pulled up his vehicle to block off the path of the knifeman, forcing him to turn back toward the officers giving chase.
El-Kouby said that he, another volunteer, two officers, and civilian good Samaritans kept the man contained, moving back and advancing on him when they could. They had to balance stopping him, protecting others, and keeping out of range of the knife. Faced with the attacker, El-Kouby thought to himself that the man was willing to attack anyone in his way.
“He’s got one thing on his mind,” El-Kouby recalled thinking. “He’s here to kill.”
The officers had to taser the 45-year-old attacker multiple times, falling back with each discharge that failed to bring him down. Eventually, the attacker dropped, and the group jumped onto the knifeman. El-Kouby said that when he saw his chance, he jumped onto the suspect’s legs. After all of the taser discharges, the knifeman still wouldn’t let go of his weapon, and El-Kouby recounted trying to reach for his hand to pull it away. The attacker went into cardiac arrest and was given treatment at the scene of the attack.
He only found out about the wounded men, one in their 30s and another in their 70s, later. The Metropolitan Police reported that they were in stable condition. El-Kouby was worried about them, but according to him, the outcome could have been much worse. He credited God for safeguarding him and the community. El-Kouby’s involvement was a matter of duty, one that he fulfilled on Wednesday.
“I wanted to protect the community, and that’s what I did,” said El-Kouby. “I was able to give something to the community today.”
‘We are shocked, but not surprised,’ Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman
Kehillas Federation Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, who lives within the area cordoned off by police and was later visited by El-Kouby, said that the whole community was grateful for all the volunteers of Shomrim, Community Security Trusts, Hatzola, and police who quickly rendered aid. Yet while the authorities acted with alacrity to address the incident, the underlying issue was still being ignored.
“We’re shocked, but not surprised,” said Zimmerman.
Incitement against Jews in the UK had become commonplace, with weekly anti-Israel protests seeing participants calling to “globalize the intifada.” Eventually, someone was going to act on that call to action, Zimmerman explained.
“We have to address this; otherwise, this will keep on repeating itself,” said Zimmerman
The rabbi recalled how he had gone to 10 Downing Street for Hanukkah lighting celebrations, and activists had shouted about supposed “genocide” in Gaza as he went by.
“It’s acceptable to shout at people in front of the prime minister’s home on the basis of their religion,” said Zimmerman.
El-Kouby agreed that incitement was an issue, as people were becoming more comfortable with being racist against Jews. The protests were making things more difficult in the country, and they were more about being anti-Jewish than supporting Palestinians.
Zimmerman expected many politicians to make statements about how the stabbing attack was an act of senseless violence, but he argued that such incidents were part of a conscious effort to elicit fear among Jews, informed by incitement. “Perhaps it was random, but it wasn’t senseless — It is very intentional, and very calculated to produce a certain result,” said Zimmerman.
Instead of tackling the incitement against Jews, the Jewish community was expected to hide its identity and retreat from public life. Many Jews were visibly religious, and hiding their articles of faith simply wasn’t an option, said the rabbi. He argued that they wanted to be part of public life and to integrate into British society
“It’s the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens, not to tell them to hide their identity,” said Zimmerman.
El-Kouby shared a story in which he entered an Apple store a few years ago, and three men approached him, calling him a “baby killer” and demanding that he leave. Security asked him to exit the store because they didn’t want an incident. It was easier to exclude him than it was to manage three aggressive Islamist men. The Shomrim said that British Jews didn’t want to hide and wanted to live alongside other people.
“This is who I am, and I’m proud to be a Jew,” said El-Kouby.
The father said that the incident could have gone very differently as he faced down the attacker’s knife, changing his family forever. With God’s hand in his survival, he saw no reason to be embarrassed to be Jews.
“After this incident, there’s nothing better than to be proud to be a Jew,” said El-Kouby. “You have to see that Hashem that protects us.”
Source:
www.jpost.com
