Terrifying moment Jewish shop owners suffer random ‘anti-Semitic attack’ in a London street
Terrifying moment Jewish shop owners suffer random ‘anti-Semitic attack’ in a London street as passer-by beats them up for no apparent reason – on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day
Shocking video shows the pair locking up their shop in South Tottenham when they are attacked in the streetAs the man walks past words appear to be exchanged with the Jewish men who prepare to defend themselvesVideo then shows the man launching an astonishing attack on the two men, one of which is hit to the groundMetropolitan Police are investigating incident as hate crime and an 18-year-old man is currently in custody
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This is the terrifying moment two Jewish shop owners are assaulted by a passer-by in a ‘brutal, unprovoked and anti-Semitic’ attack on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day.
The shocking video shows the pair locking up their shop in north London, when they are approached by a passer-by who launches an astonishing attack, knocking one to the floor and causing both to lose their kippah.
The attack, which is being probed as a hate crime by police, took place in Stamford Hill – a Jewish community which last year saw a ‘worrying rise’ in anti-Semitic violence following escalating tension in the Middle East.
It also happened just hours before the start of Holocaust Memorial Day, a solemn remembrance of those six million Jews who were systematically killed under the Nazi’s anti-Semitic regime.
Today police described CCTV footage of the attack, released on ‘this important day’, as an ‘awful reminder that hate crime still exists’.
Home Secretary Priti Patel echoed the sentiment, describing it as ‘an absolutely despicable attack’.
‘This, on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, is a sickening reminder of why we must never allow antisemitism to take root,’ the Home Secretary said in a video post.
‘We won’t tolerate abuse towards our Jewish community. Thank you to the officers who responded swiftly to make an arrest.’
Meanwhile, representatives from local neighbourhood watch group Shomrim Stamford Hill say the incident was ‘without a doubt’ a racially motivated attack.
They say the two men were punched in the face ‘with great force’, with one of the men suffering bruising and a fractured hand while the second man was also left badly bruised and has an eye injury.
Police are investigating the incident and have confirmed they are treating it as a hate crime. An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and remains in custody.
Chief Superintendent Simon Crick said: ‘On this most important day, this is an awful reminder that hate crime still exists.
Pictured: This is the terrifying moment two Jewish shop owners are assaulted by a passer-by in a ‘brutal, unprovoked and anti-Semitic’ attack in London which was caught on CCTV cameras
Video then shows the man launching an astonishing attack on the two men, knocking one to the floor and causing them to lose their kippah. Police are treating the incident as a hate crime
‘I know that Haringey residents will be upset by such a horrible attack and we won’t stand for anyone in our community being targeted or hurt.
‘If you assault someone, you can expect us to do everything we can to investigate and find you.
‘I have been in touch with members of the local Jewish community and I’m providing additional patrols throughout the day to reassure the community. Please do speak to them if you have any concerns.
‘I would like to thank the members of the public who called us and asked us to come to the aid of these two gentlemen, and grateful for their help which meant we could locate a suspect.’
Today local Jewish leaders have slammed the incident as a ‘brutal and unprovoked attack’, which they claim was fuelled by anti-Semitism.
Sharing the video on Twitter under the hashtag ‘hate crime’, Shomrim Stamford Hill Branch, a Jewish-run neighbourhood watch scheme, wrote: ‘Two Jewish men attacked in Cadoxton Avenue.
‘The brutal, unprovoked attack saw the victims knocked to the floor by vicious punches to the head.
‘Located the suspect through CCTV enquiries. Arrested by Haringey Police.’
The video shows the two Jewish men leaving the shop on Cadoxton Avenue in South Tottenham around 9.50pm on Wednesday.
As the pair walk under shutters and into the street they are approached by a lone male in a dark puffer jacket and dark trousers.
As he walks past, one of the Jewish men appears to exchange words with him as he nervously raises his right arm in defence.
The attacker is then seen unleashing a volley of punches as one of the men raises his foot to try and keep him at bay.
But he repeats his attack, punching one of the men in the head, sending him tumbling to the floor. At this point his kippah falls from his head.
The man then unleashes a volley of punches at the other man, causing him to lose his kippah.
The attacker then chases one of the men, before stopping his attack. He is then seen continuing his walk past the shop, kicking one of the men’s kippah as he does so.
The kippah is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, and traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfil the customary requirement that the head be covered.
In the Orthodox Jewish community it is worn by men at all times.
In a statement issued to MailOnline, a spokesman for London Shomrim, Stamford Hill Division, said: ‘Shomrim were called at 9.52pm yesterday January 26 to an assault on Cadoxton Ave.
‘On arrival some two minutes later our Shomrim volunteers discovered two Jewish men whilst locking up their shop, had been subject to a brutal and sustained attack by a black male.
‘The attacker repeatedly punched the Jewish men in the face with great force knocking them to the ground.
‘The attack went on for some time. After the attack the perpetrator kicked the kippah as he walked away.’
Pictured: the video shows the two Jewish men leaving the shop on Cadoxton Avenue in South Tottenham, London, at around 9.50pm. As the pair walk under shutters and step out into the street they are approached by a lone male in a dark puffer jacket and dark trousers
As the suspect walks past the victims’ shop, one of the two Jewish men appears to exchange words with him as he nervously raises his right arm in defence before the attack escalates
The attacker is seen unleashing punches as one man raises a foot to try and keep him at bay
Pictured: The lone suspect repeats his attack, punching one of the men in the head, sending the victim tumbling to the ground at which point his kippah falls from his head to the floor
Shomrim viewed CCTV and added ‘without doubt this attack appears to be racially motivated’.
The group said they are supporting the victims, their families and the community.
Shomrim volunteers say they conducted enquiries and, using CCTV and local knowledge, tracked down a suspect who was arrested and remains in custody.
Meanwhile Haringey police said in a statement: ‘We were called on Wednesday at approximately 9.50pm to reports of two men being assaulted in Cadoxton Avenue, Haringey.
‘Officers attended and searched the local area for the suspect, before arresting an 18-year-old man in nearby Fairview Road on suspicion of actual bodily harm. He was taken into custody, where he currently remains.
‘The tow men who were assaulted were taken to a north London hospital. Officers will continue to liase with the victims and members of the community. This is being treated as a hate crime at this time.’
The attack took place on Wednesday night, just hours before the start of Holocaust Memorial Day.
Held on January 27 – to mark the date in 1945 that the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated – Holocaust Memorial Day is held each year to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution.
The man then unleashes a volley of punches at the other man, causing him to lose his kippah
Pictured: The attacker then chases one of the men, before stopping his attack. The man is then seen continuing his walk past the victims’ shop, kicking one of the men’s kippah as he does so
Today Prince Charles has hailed seven portraits of some of the UK’s last remaining Holocaust survivors as a ‘powerful testament’ to their lived experience.
MPs will also mark the day by holding what is known as a ‘general debate’ – which allows MPs debate a subject without committing the House to an opinion or course of action – on Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 in the House of Commons.
Dame Margaret Hodge, Robert Jenrick, Kirsten Oswald and Charlotte Nichols have put forward the motion.
The incident happened between the areas of Stamford Hill, a Jewish area with one of the largest communities of Hasidic Jews in Europe, and South Tottenham, a diverse area which also has a high number of Jewish residents.
The community, which is largely strictly ultra-Orthodox, a group which strictly adheres to Jewish law and largely opposes modern practices, is estimated to be some 15,000 strong, and growing at a rate of around 5 per cent each year.
Many Jewish men can be seen walking in their distinctive clothes on their way to and from worship.
Last year it was revealed how violence in Jewish people in London had spiked following escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine.
Some 87 incidents were recorded in May, four times higher than any other month in the past three years, according to Met Police statistics.
Speaking at the time, Chaim Hochhauser from Shomrim Stamford Hill told the BBC: ‘Usually when it flares up in Israel, it flares up here locally.
The incident happened between the areas of Stamford Hill (pictured), a predominantly Jewish area with one of the largest communities of of Hasidic Jews in Europe, and South Tottenham, a diverse area which also has a high number of Jewish residents
Some 87 incidents were recorded in May, four times higher than any other month in the past three years, according to Met Police statistics. Pictured: Library image of Jewish people walking around the Stamford Hill – which is home to one of the largest Hasidic Jewish communities in Europe
‘In May (last year) we had the Gaza war in Israel, so that is why it has flared up in England. During May (last year), the Jewish community in Hackney were the target of many racially motivated attacks.
‘One of these hate crimes targeted over 30 Jewish-owned vehicles whose tyres were slashed. This was pure hate crime as only the Jewish cars were targeted’.
Dozens of other non-violent incidents were recorded across the capital last May. In one despicable incident, the word ‘Hitler’ was written on the ceiling of a communal block of flats.
The Metropolitan Police, speaking at the time, called the incidents ‘deplorable abuse’.
