At least three Jewish women attacked in north London in alleged hate crime

Suspect arrested after being detained by Jewish security volunteers who quickly arrived on scene; victims, including mother with baby, believe they were assaulted due to their faith

By Zev Stub
  • Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's reporter on diaspora affairs and Israeli real estate.
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Illustrative: Police officers stand guard outside Woolwich Crown Court as the trial of three Iranian nationals, charged with spying offenses on behalf of Iran’s foreign intelligence service, takes place in London, October 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Several Jewish women were allegedly assaulted on Monday in the Stamford Hill area of north London, including a mother pushing her baby in a stroller, in suspected antisemitic hate crimes, according to the Jewish volunteer security organization Shomrim.

A 33-year-old male suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially and religiously aggravated grievous bodily harm, Metropolitan Police said, after the Jewish security group detained him.

Shomrim said it received a call from a visibly Jewish woman who said she had been punched in the face by a middle-aged male on Clapton Common, a neighborhood park area. Volunteers arrived on the scene within 30 seconds and witnessed a second assault on another Jewish woman: she was punched twice in the face, leaving significant bruising, the organization said.

At least one more woman was assaulted as she was pushing her young baby in a stroller, said Metropolitan Police. Further assaults have been reported, but the victims have yet to come forward, Shomrim said.

Victims told Shomrim they believe they were assaulted because they were Jewish, as the offender only targeted Jewish women.

The assailant is also suspected of assaulting a woman he knew in a separate incident last Friday, police said.

Chief Inspector Erica Crawshaw said in a statement that the police were “grateful to our partners in the Shomrim for detaining a suspect prior to the arrival of officers.”

She called on other victims to come forward as soon as possible

“Antisemitic behavior and hate crime of any kind will not be tolerated,” she added. “We recognize the concern that this incident will have caused the Jewish community here in Hackney. We have increased patrols in the area and we are speaking to community leaders to provide further reassurance.”

“These shocking attacks are utterly unacceptable,” the European Jewish Congress posts on X following the attack. “Jewish women should not have to fear violence simply for being visibly Jewish.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote on X that “no one should face abuse or violence because of their faith,” adding that he wants “to reassure our Jewish communities that police have made an arrest, are investigating and have increased patrols.”

A spate of violent attacks over the past year has shaken Britain’s Jewish community during a period of heightened antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Earlier this month, data released by the British government showed hate crimes targeting Jewish people in England and Wales rose by 10 percent in the year ending in March.

The number of recorded offenses affecting Jews rose from 2,874 to 3,162, spiking after the Heaton Park attack, in which two Jewish men were killed on Yom Kippur in 2025. The Home Office figures showed the second-highest level of religious hate crime directed at the Jewish community since the Home Office began keeping records in 2018. It was surpassed only by the year ending March 2024.

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