London police hunt man who hacked mezuzahs off Jewish homes
Force working to identify suspect caught on CCTV footage approaching home in Golders Green and prying religious item from doorpost; community security says several houses targeted
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating after a man allegedly removed mezuzahs from doors in the Golders Green area, which is a prominent Jewish neighborhood in the capital.
“The man approached two addresses in Bridge Lane. Officers are working to identify the man and anyone with any information is asked to contact police,” the Met said in a statement Tuesday.
“Officers will be carrying out patrols in the area following these concerning reports and members of the public are encouraged to report any issues to officers,” it added.
A mezuzah is a rolled-up scroll of parchment that Jewish families hang on the frame of their front doors, usually in a decorative case.
The Jewish security charity Shomrim said it had “received multiple reports of incidents that appear to be deliberate acts of antisemitism, involving the removal of mezuzot in Golders Green.”
It shared CCTV footage of one incident that occurred on Monday. In the footage, a man wearing a backpack could be seen using a knife to pry a mezuzah off a door.
We have received multiple reports of incidents that appear to be deliberate acts of #antisemitism, involving the removal of mezuzah’s in #GoldersGreen.
We are liaising with police. If you’ve been a victim, contact #Shomrim NW London on 03009991234 quoting ref NW683-20/05/25 pic.twitter.com/FKAZHQh9cu
— Shomrim North West London (@shomrimlondon) May 20, 2025
“Shomrim is supporting the victims of these incidents and continues to provide reassurance patrols in the area,” it said. “The organization encourages anyone who has been affected or who has experienced any form of antisemitism to get in touch.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism posted to X: “Extremely concerning footage seems to show a man approaching a Jewish home and forcibly removing a mezuzah before walking away.”
“This sort of cowardly and costly vandalism targeting Jewish homes sends the message that British Jews aren’t safe, even in places where they think they are,” it said.
Antisemitism has spiked around the world since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and UK Jews have suffered a sizable portion of it. A February report by the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit that monitors antisemitism and provides security for UK Jews, reported 3,528 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a figure that is second only to the 4,296 incidents recorded the year before. A separate study by UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism found that only one-third of British Jews believe they have a long-term future in the United Kingdom, and half have considered leaving Britain in the past two years due to antisemitism.
Zev Stub and JTA contributed to this report.
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