Shenley Parish Council Zoombombed with atrocious “Burn the Jews” comment

A Shenley Parish Council meeting was interrupted with an atrocious antisemitic comment.

A participant at the Zoom meeting on 16th March commented in capital letters in the chat: “Burn the Jews”. The attendee, thought to have logged in under a pseudonym, was immediately removed from the meeting.

The incident was reportedly witnessed by nearly 80 people, including councillors, the clerk and the Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, as well as members of the public.

The Chairman of the Council, who was speaking at the time that the comment was posted, said: “We take pride in Shenley being a friendly, welcoming and inclusive community. I was shocked when the meeting was interrupted by this vile individual spouting such religious and antisemitic hatred. Ironically, this came after the meeting was opened by Reverend Daniel McCarthy who had addressed the community with a message of peace and loving kindness, urging us to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.”

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Police are investigating an incident of malicious communications and hate crime in Shenley. It was reported that between 7pm and 7.30pm last night (Tuesday 16th March) an antisemitic comment was made on a text chat during an online Shenley Parish Council meeting. Any report to police will be taken seriously and dealt with sensitively.”

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101, quoting crime reference number: 41/19051/21.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on the phenomenon of ‘Zoom bombing’ and has urged communal institutions to take precautions to safeguard against antisemitic disruption of online events.