Police have launched a hunt for a racist yob who targeted Jewish people in London’s Stamford Hill in a string of anti-Semitic attacks.
The unknown male was caught on CCTV throwing the hats off of Jewish men close to a synagogue in Hackney, with reports of the same man assaulting a child and punching other victims in the head.
Metropolitan Police officers were made aware of the horrific incident and raced to the scene on Cazenove Road shortly after 2pm on Thursday December 21, although the suspect had fled before they arrived.
The force said no arrests had yet been made but detectives have identified one of the victims and are now searching for the attacker and any other victims.
It comes amid a steep surge in reports of antisemitic incidents following the increased conflict in Gaza, after Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,400 people in Israel in a sneak attack on October 7.
Footage showed a yob throwing the hats off of Jewish men close to a synagogue in Hackney, with reports of the same man assaulting a child and punching other victims in the head
He was then seen swiping out at Jewish men who were standing on the pavement outside a synagogue
The footage, which was shared to social media, showed a man appearing to target men close to a synagogue while cycling through Stamford Hill, an area known for its large Jewish population.
The video, which was taken on an unknown date in Cazenove Road, shows the yob moving along the pavement on the bike before swiping at the heads of men walking past him.
CCTV captured the moment two men had their hats batted off, while the Shomrim neighbourhood watch group, which shared the footage, claimed some others had been physically hit in the head.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: ‘Since the beginning of the conflict in Israel and Gaza, we have increased reassurance patrols across Stamford Hill and the wider area.
‘I would encourage anyone who has information about a suspect or anyone who was a victim of one of these hate offences to contact the team of detectives who are working with the local community to solve this crime.
‘We have been clear that hate has no place in London, and any allegation of antisemitism reported to police will be investigated robustly.’
A police spokesperson added: ‘Police in Hackney are appealing for information about a suspect who assaulted members of the Jewish community.
‘Officers were called shortly after 14:00hrs on Thursday, 21 December to reports that a person on a bicycle had knocked the hats off a number of people before assaulting a child on Cazenove Road, N16.
Photos taken on Wednesday showed a bus stop in Stamford Hill covered in graffiti showing a Star of David with a cross spray-painted over the top
Antisemitic graffiti calling Jews ‘evil’ was sprayed on skate ramps used by children in a park in Notting Hill, west London
‘Officers attended and spoke with the informant; the victims and suspect had left prior to their arrival.
‘Whilst there have been no arrests at this time, detectives have now identified a victim and are continuing enquiries to locate the suspect and additional victims.
‘Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 3841/21Dec.’
The footage was released the same day photos showed a cross spray-painted over a Star of David at a bus stop one mile away in Bethune Road.
Earlier this week graffiti reading ‘They’re evil. Jew ban due’, were seen sprayed on to ramps used by children at Meanwhile Gardens in Notting Hill.
Kensington and Chelsea council confirmed that it had wiped off the graffiti hours after it had been reported.
Police have been urged to investigate the incident which has been labelled ‘grotesque’ and ‘depressing’.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: ‘Grotesque antisemitic graffiti spotted in Meanwhile Gardens Skatepark in Notting Hill.
‘Jewish residents in London should not have to be subjected to such sickening vandalism.’
And earlier this month police appealed for help to track down a suspect, who was filmed shouting at pedestrians in Stamford Hill at 7pm on Wednesday, December 13.
Police are appealing for help to track down a man, who was filmed shouting at pedestrians in Stamford Hill at 7pm on Wednesday, December 13
At one point in the video, he sees a Jewish man on a bike and begins harassing him. The Met says it wants to speak to the man
The thug also shouted ‘You f***ing Jew, I will kill you’, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA)
Video showed the man pointing and shouting at a Jewish greengrocer before following her around a corner where he sees an orthodox Jewish boy on a bike, who he then began harassing. He later shouted at a mother pushing her baby in a pram.
The thug shouted ‘You f***ing Jew, I will kill you’, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA). The Met said it was ‘looking to speak’ to him.
The CAA shared two further videos, one of which allegedly showed a woman saying ‘I’ll kill all of you Jews’ to children outside a synagogue, and a man shouting ‘heil Hitler’. The Met is investigating both incidents.
On Christmas Day actor and comedian Stephen Fry condemned the rise of antisemitism since Hamas’s terror attack on Israel while delivering Channel 4’s 2023 Alternative Christmas Message.
In his speech, the actor and comedian, 66, talked of the ‘violence and destruction that’s unfolding’ amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict and addressed antisemitism in the UK – including shop windows being smashed and Jewish schools being forced to close.
The former QI host and star of Blackadder began by wishing viewers a ‘Merry Christmas’ before talking about his sexuality and how it led to him experiencing a ‘long, lonely line of Christmases’ when he was growing out of childhood.
He said: ‘Exclusion, exile and disgrace had been and surely always would be the fate of the homosexual. But, look, in my short lifetime – well, I think of it as short – Britain has moved towards an understanding and acceptance of gay love.
‘All right, it’s not, it’s not perfect of course, but what an improvement over the grim culture in which I grew up.’
The London-born celebrity talked about his Jewish identity and how, unlike his sexuality, he never thought it would be something he ‘had any cause to worry about in this country’.
A Channel 4 photo issued of Stephen Fry ahead of the Alternative Christmas Message
Pita restaurant in Golders Green, north London, in October which was smashed up
He said: ‘I don’t think of myself as especially Jewish. Indeed, sometimes people rather embarrassingly refer to me as ‘quintessentially English’, whatever that means.’
Fry then said he accepts and claims his Jewish identity ‘with pride’, declaring: ‘I am Stephen Fry and I am a Jew.’
Speaking about the Israel-Hamas conflict, he added: ‘The horrendous events of October 7 and the Israeli response seem to have stirred up this ancient hatred.
‘It’s agonising to see all the violence and destruction that’s unfolding, and the terrible loss of life on both sides brings me an overwhelming sadness and heartache.
‘But whatever our opinions on what is happening, there can be no excuse for the behaviour of some of our citizens.’
Fry cited figures from the Metropolitan Police, which describe an increase in antisemitism in London since Hamas’s incursion on October 7, and said there have been: ‘Shop windows smashed, Stars of David and swastikas daubed on walls of Jewish properties, synagogues and cemeteries.
‘Jewish schools have been forced to close’, he added.
In October, the Met said antisemitic offences in London had increased by more than 1,000 per cent compared to the same month last year.
‘There is real fear stalking the Jewish neighbourhoods of Britain,’ Fry said. ‘Jewish people here are becoming fearful of showing themselves, in Britain, in 2023.’
The star will end his speech by calling on viewers to ‘speak up’ and ‘stand’ with Jewish people. ‘Be… proud to have us as much a part of this great nation as any other minority,’ he said.
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