16-year-old Jewish girl beaten and left bleeding for two hours after Metropolitan Police Service fails to send officers

It has emerged that a 16-year-old Jewish girl was kicked and punched in the face during an antisemitic assault in Stoneyfields Park in Edgware, and was left bleeding in the care of an off-duty Royal Mail worker for two hours after the Metropolitan Police Service failed to send officers to her aid.

Alexander Goldberg, a barrister and police chaplain, wrote about the alleged incident on Facebook. According to his account of the incident, his daughter Hannah was sitting in the park with two friends during the Jewish sabbath on 27th May, when a group of five teenagers who had been playing on a basketball court decided to leave the court and play “in and around” the three Jewish girls, who were all wearing traditional long skirts. The teenagers then allegedly verbally abused the girls, culminating in one of them telling Hannah: “Hitler should have killed all you Jews when he had the chance…you should have all been gassed.” Remarkably, according to her father Hannah stood up to the teenagers, some of whom were black, and told them that the Nazis would have murdered them too, to which one of the teenagers answered that “Jews are the worst” and continued to swear at the girls.

Hannah asked her friends if they could leave, and as they left one of the teenagers allegedly threw a basketball in Hannah’s face, causing her nose to bleed. She asked them why he was doing this, but he allegedly responded by kicking her in the chest whilst another teenager punched her twice in the face.

The girls found an off-duty Royal Mail employee who twice called 999 whilst the girls waited, with Hannah covered in blood. After waiting for hours, during which some of the assailants remained in the area, the girls went home. The Metropolitan Police Service did not attend.

When contacted by Hannah’s father, the Metropolitan Police Service failed to investigate their decision not to deploy officers, however it agreed to open an investigation when he contacted Stamford Hill Shomrim, which interceded with the police.

We are appalled by the lack of a police response to a violent antisemitic assault on Jewish children. This incident should have resulted in police officers attending within no more than eight minutes, and the failure of the Metropolitan Police Service to deploy must be investigated thoroughly and transparently. Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the Commissioner.

It is the second recent example of police failing to attend an antisemitic attack after Kent Police declined to come to the aid of a young Jewish family which was attacked by a gang hurling stones at them.