Jewish volunteers putting up posters of Gaza hostages assaulted in London
Jewish volunteers putting up posters of Gaza hostages were assaulted in an alleged anti-Semitic attack in north-west London.
The Metropolitan Police is searching for a man who allegedly attacked the group of volunteers. Footage on social media shows the moment a man shouting abuse pushed a woman to the ground and smashed her phone.
The incident, which happened in Primrose Hill on Thursday night, came amid a shocking rise in anti-Semitism, according to police figures, and followed an earlier incident in Camden.
Oded, one of the group attacked on Thursday, told The Telegraph he had engaged in “many interactions with members of the public” in the course of putting up posters of hostages over recent weeks, but “many people have come to provoke us”.
The first incident on Thursday happened outside Camden Town Station just after 7pm. The group of six volunteers were putting up posters when they were approached by a woman expressing her support for Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militia opposed to Israel, with a man thought to be known to the woman also intimidating the group.
Police dealt with the incident and the group moved about a mile further north to Primrose Hill where, at around 8.30pm, they started placing more posters on the bridge to Chalk Farm.
Almost immediately, a passer-by, thought to be in his early 20s, started abusing the group with anti-Semitic language before allegedly launching an assault. One of the women was thrown twice to the ground, had her phone smashed and was repeatedly struck in the face and kicked.
Although there were no lasting injuries, Oded says the group were left “in shock”.
“We’ve gone out many times before and have had mostly positive experiences,” he said. “Although we have been sworn at and accused of putting up propaganda, it has never before descended to physical violence.
“This was the most violent and vicious of these incidents that I’ve witnessed. It was very, very unpleasant.”
He added that the police had been “phenomenal”, adding that “they really understood the needs of the community”.
The Telegraph understands that the posters in Primrose Hill have been covered over with spray paint since the incident.
The Met Police has said there has been a 1,350 per cent rise in anti-Semitic attacks since Oct 7, when Hamas terrorists killed over1,000 Israeli civilians in scenes that have shocked global audiences.
Around 240 hostages were taken by Hamas. So far, 110 have been released through negotiations with Israeli authorities.
A spokesman for the Jewish group said the most upsetting part of Thursday’s incidents was “how terribly unfair it is that Jewish people, who love this country and contribute to society to the fullest extent, are assaulted, harassed and intimidated by various people who only bring destruction and hatred to the world.
“We will pursue the incidents to the fullest extent of the law. We will not let them win. We will do our role to make sure these people do not feel like they’re above the law and can assault us and intimidate us however they please. We will continue our fight for the hostages.”
The Met Police was contacted for this story.
