Passersby come to aid of Jewish boy as teenagers grab at his hat and bicycle, threatening to “beat” him
A 16-year-old Jewish boy sitting on a park bench in London was helped by members of the public as teenagers grabbed at his hat and bicycle, threatening to “beat” him.
The incident occurred just before 15:00 today in Springfield Park in Hackney. The Jewish boy was resting on the bench when he was allegedly approached by two younger teenagers aged approximately 14 and described as “Asian”, who grabbed at his bicycle and his hat, which is of the kind traditionally worn by charedi (orthodox) Jews. When the Jewish boy asked them to stop, he said that they threatened to “beat” him.
Members of the public came to the boy’s defence and the Metropolitan Police Service and Stamford Hill Shomrim were called to the scene. The boy told them that he was convinced that the teenagers targeted him because he was Jewish, which means that under the so-called ‘MacPherson Principle’ it must be recorded and investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.
We are grateful to the passersby who came to the boy’s assistance. It appears that recognisably Jewish schoolchildren are increasingly being targeted, including by other children, and we expect that the Metropolitan Police Service will investigate this matter as an antisemitic hate crime.
Thanks to members of public who came to the rescue of a young Jewish boy in Springfield Park who was unprovokedly threatened to be beaten up pic.twitter.com/bN4KebXTau
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) June 11, 2017