Two teenage brothers convicted for violent antisemitic beating of senior visiting rabbi last year
Two teenage brothers have been convicted for the violent antisemitic beating of a senior rabbi who was visiting the UK from Israel late last year.
The two offenders – who cannot be named for legal reasons – were said to have shouted “f*** Jews” and “dirty Jew” during the attack, which took place at approximately 21:45 on Friday 29th November as the rabbi walked along Amhurst Park in Stamford Hill. The assailants ran off laughing.
The incident took place during the Jewish Sabbath, when Orthodox Jews do not use telephones, but the incident was reported to the police and Stamford Hill Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol.
The 54-year-old victim was in Stamford Hill for a wedding and was left shaken after the attack, with an injured back and a bleeding finger.
The suspects were charged in December.
The convictions for racially or religiously aggravated assault by beating were handed down at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 25th June following a two-day hearing. Sentencing is expected on 21st July at the same venue. It is understood that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will be applying for a longer sentence, as the attack was racially motivated.
Peter Alexandrou of the CPS, said: “This was an unprovoked and despicable act against a Jewish man who was holidaying in the UK. He was clearly targeted in this hate crime and should not have been subjected to such behaviour in our society The prosecution case included strong witness evidence and CCTV footage of the attack as well as CCTV tracking the defendants leaving the scene after the assault. I hope these convictions provide the victim with some closure and show just how seriously the CPS takes hate crime, which has a corrosive effect on our society and will be prosecuted robustly.”
A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This was an appalling violent attack on an innocent and eminent visitor to our country which left him not just with physical injuries but an impression of the UK that sadly our country is beginning to deserve, as attacks on Jews proliferate. The CPS is right to apply for a longer sentence, both to deliver justice for the victim and a deterrent to safeguard the Jewish community.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
