Man arrested for accosting residents in Jewish neighborhood of London

A man disturbing the peace outside of Jewish-owned businesses in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood of London has been arrested, police say.

Around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Barnet Metropolitan Police were called regarding reports of a man acting erratically in the street, trying to punch passersby and shouting in Arabic outside Jewish-owned businesses. The man was located with the help of local residents and arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense.

The incident is being treated as a potential hate crime, police say. There have been no reports of any injuries.

There has been a surge in antisemitic incidents in the UK since Hamas launched its war with Israel on October 7, 2023. Last week, the Community Security Trust reported that British Jews experienced 3,528 antisemitic incidents during 2024, a figure that is second only to the 4,296 incidents recorded the year before.