London police probing whether beating of Jewish woman a hate crime
Shomrim security group says attackers kicked unconscious victim, laughed that she was ‘dead’; footage appears to show passerby ignoring attack, others arriving to help
London police said Friday they were investigating whether an attack on a Jewish woman in the city this week was a hate crime, amid a steep rise in antisemitic attacks in the United Kingdom since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
The woman was violently assaulted and robbed in the northern London borough of Haringey on Thursday by two women who fled the scene.
The Shomrim security organization said that the attackers kicked the unconscious victim in the head, and laughed that she was “dead.”
Though the woman was bruised, she did not require hospitalization.
“This was a shocking incident and we are supporting the victim who is understandably distressed,” the Metropolitan Police said. “Officers take any suggestion of hate crime incredibly seriously and our investigation will include a thorough assessment of the motive for the attack.”
Video of the attack was widely circulated on social media.
#HateCrime #Antisemitism #ViciousAssault
See dramatic footage of the horrendous #Racist vicious assault leaving the female victim unconscious!
The brutal attack ended after the two female offenders kept on kicking the unconscious victim in the head before laughing over her body… pic.twitter.com/FLxC3re1As
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) December 8, 2023
In the footage, an individual with a stroller appeared to walk by the incident without intervening. Another group of people then arrived and appeared to aid the victim, as the attackers walked away.
Since the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas against Israel and the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas, antisemitism has been on the rise in many countries, including the UK.
The attack saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air, and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing some 240 hostages of all ages under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
At least 1,747 antisemitic incidents were recorded between October 7 and November 29 by the Community Security Trust, whose role is to protect the UK’s Jewish community.
It is the highest total the group has recorded over a 54-day period since it began logging attacks in 1984. Over the same period in 2022, it recorded 263 incidents.
Most of the offenses were verbal attacks and graffiti, but the organization also recorded 74 assaults.
