“CAA Offers £10,000 Reward for Information Leading to Conviction in
Connection with ‘Life-or-Death’ Antisemitic Attack in West Hampstead,” Campaign Against Antisemitism, April 14, 2022:
…Over Chanukah, a Jewish man was
allegedly violently attacked by a man carrying what appeared to be a
knife in an antisemitic attack in the north London neighbourhood. The
alleged assailant said that he wanted to “Kill my first Jew” but has not
been traced. Police released a CCTV image of a man whom they need
to speak with. The photograph that has been released may not be of the
assailant.
Following the attack, police faced criticism for their
initial slow response, which they had said would take an hour to respond
to, however the police investigation was upgraded following
intervention by CST. Nevertheless, the investigation has stalled, and we
are now again appealing to the public to provide information so that
justice can be done for the victim.
The incident took place on 2nd
December at around 19:20, when the victim was returning from work. He
exited West Hampstead Underground Station and walked to the nearby Marks
and Spencer supermarket located in West Hampstead Square. He saw
the alleged attacker desecrating a 4-metre high public Chanukiah that
was erected on West Hampstead Square to celebrate the Jewish festival of
Chanukah, pulling the object down before proceeding to stamp on in and
shout antisemitic abuse.
With no prior interaction, the attacker
approached the victim and aggressively said: “You look Jewish” and that
he was “looking for a Jew to kill” after singling out the victim among
other pedestrians, despite there being no visible indication of his
Jewish background. He allegedly asked threateningly: “Are you
Jewish?” The victim, understandably wishing to avoid a confrontation,
said “No,” to which the man replied: “Good, I want to find a Jew to
kill.”
The victim entered a nearby Marks and Spencer supermarket
and the man remained outside. The victim was worried for the safety of
other Jews and their families in the neighbourhood where the man was
loitering, which has a sizeable Jewish population. The victim approached
a supermarket employee, who said that the man had been in the store
earlier. The victim decided to call the police, explaining the situation to them over the course of about eight minutes.
Officers
told the victim that they did not consider the case urgent enough for a
priority response and would come within an hour, despite the attacker
threatening to kill Jews. After a short period of time, the victim
spotted the man again, outside the shop, pulling down the public
Chanukiah which someone had put back up in the intervening time. The
victim also said that the man was shouting aggressively at a young
woman, aged 18-25 who fled the square. He then returned to pulling the
Chanukiah to the ground.
Fearing for the young woman, the victim
and the supermarket employee confronted the man from a ten-metre
distance. The attacker allegedly shouted at him in response: “I knew you
were Jewish, you lied to me” and began walking towards his victim while
shouting: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.” He said something
in Arabic before allegedly declaring: “I want to kill my first Jew.” The
victim ran back into Marks and Spencer and turned to see if the man had
followed him, which he had, having put on a facemask in the meantime.
As the assailant walked into the shop, he shouted at the victim again: “You are Jewish.” The
man reached the victim, allegedly squaring up to him aggressively with
barely a metre between them. Within seconds, the man allegedly pushed
the victim as hard as he could with both hands on the victim’s chest,
forcing the victim to take a step backwards, all the while repeating:
“You are Jewish.
I am going to kill you.”…
