London rabbi knifed in broad-daylight attack
A MAN has been charged with attempted murder after a rabbi was stabbed in Stoke Newington, London, last Friday morning.
Police said Stanley Francis, 44, from Stoke Newington, was also charged with possessing an offensive weapon. He appeared in custody at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Rabbi Alter Yaacov Schlesinger, 50, was taken to hospital following the attack.
Police said the victim — a rabbi at the Satmar Yeshiva in Stamford Hill — was in a stable condition.
He had been queuing outside a Nat West bank branch on Stoke Newington High Street, Hackney, when he was attacked.
Witnesses described how a man in his 40s ran off a bus and set upon the rabbi with a large knife just before 11am.
It was reported that construction site manager Lazar Friedlander and his brother Matt, who are Jewish, ran towards the alleged attacker and restrained him after hearing a “serious scream”.
Rabbi Schlesinger was stabbed multiple times, including in the head, before the attacker was tackled by the two workmen and a Deliveroo driver.
He was rushed to hospital by local Hatzolah volunteers who said it was “an absolute miracle” he was not injured more seriously.The
Victim: Schlesinger alleged attacker was pinned to the ground by the group of builders for several minutes before police arrived. Mr Friedlander told MailOnLine: “I’m Jewish myself, and I can see another
Jewish man shouting ‘hold him, catch him, he’s got a knife! Stabbing!’
“There were a couple of other people trying to grab him. Me and my brother managed to force him down and put his hands behind his back until the police came. I wouldn’t call myself a hero. You act in the heat of the moment.’’
Rabbi Schlesinger is a Maggid Shiur at the Satmar Yeshiva in Stamford Hill.
A statement by the Met Police said: “At 10.54hrs on Friday, 12 June police were called to reports of a male being restrained in Stoke Newington High Street, N16. Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. A man, aged in his 50s, was found suffering stab wounds. Another man, aged in his 40s, had been restrained on the floor by members of the public.
“A man, aged in his 40s, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He has been taken to hospital after suffering what is believed to be minor head injuries.
“The victim has also been taken to hospital. We await further updates on his condition.”
The police have ruled that the incident was not terror-related — although the possibility that the attack was a hate crime remains one line of inquiry.