Man charged with attempted murder after rabbi stabbed in Stoke Newington

Stanley Francis, 44, from Stoke Newington, will appear in custody at Thames Magistrates' Court on Monday.

By Jewish News Reporter
13 June 2020, 6:58 pm
Screengrab taken with permission from a video issued by Lazar Friedlander of members of the public detaining a man in Stoke Newington, north London, after a Jewish man was stabbed in the street. The suspect, a man in his forties said to be of Asian descent, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. (Photo credit: Lazar Friedlander /PA Wire)

A man has been charged with attempted murder after a rabbi was stabbed in London.

Police said Stanley Francis, 44, from Stoke Newington, was also charged with possessing an offensive weapon and will appear in custody at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Rabbi Alter Yaacov Schlesinger, who is in his 50s, was taken to a major trauma centre after the broad daylight attack near a bank in Stoke Newington on Friday. Police said his condition was not life threatening.

His attacker was restrained by members of the public until police arrived.

One of them, construction site manager Lazar Friedlander, said he ran to the scene with his brother after hearing a “serious scream”.

He told the PA news agency: “We ran outside, I saw a Jewish man covered in blood. I’mJewish 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.”

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