Jewish teenager chased through London streets by stone-throwing attackers

A 16-year-old Jewish boy was chased through Stamford Hill, an area of London with a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, by three males throwing stones, according to CCTV footage taken two weeks ago which was shared by the neighborhood watch group Shomrim.

Community leaders told the Jewish Chronicle that antisemitic incidents in Stamford Hill have become increasingly common since the IDF began operating in Rafah, a densely populated area in the Gaza Strip with significant Hamas infrastructure. 

The young Jewish victim was “alright,” according to the JC, as he had become accustomed to the growing phenomena of antisemitism in his neighborhood. 

#HateCrime #Antisemitism 16-year-old Jewish boy chased by 3 #Racist youths who pelted him with stones and bricks on Rookwood Road N16 @MPSHackney are keen to speak to these unpleasant characters. Any info, please get in touch with @MetCC and @Shomrim, quoting Ref… pic.twitter.com/EPiiu0W2bM

— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) May 23, 2024

Only a week after the Jewish teenager was attacked, a woman was recorded shouting antisemitic statements while waving a knife around in Stamford Hill.

The young man was walking to synagogue on Shabbat, when he became victim of the unprovoked attack, Shomrim chief executive Chaim Hochhauser told the source.

"We are having quite a lot of trouble from these boys in the area [who attacked him], especially since October 7,” he said. "They are just trying to frighten and harm the Jewish community.”

CCTV footage shows what appears to be an identifiably Jewish boy – reported to be sixteen – being chased down the street by a group of three boys.It is alleged that the boys were throwing stones and bricks as the Jewish teenager ran down Rookwood Road in Stamford Hill, north… pic.twitter.com/uKpRYgcd4F

— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) May 23, 2024

While Hochhauser said that most of the recent attacks had come alongside references to the Israel-Hamas war, the majority of attackers were of a white background - not Muslim.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, Shomrim president, said: "These hate crimes are being committed by IC1 [white] males and females.

“They’re just doing it because they’re yobs. They are exactly the same people who commit Islamophobia.

"They’re not doing this because they’ve chosen a side [in the Israel Palestine conflict]. They’re doing it because they feel that both these communities are vulnerable at the moment.

“They do exactly the same to members of the Muslim community. They’re just yobs behaving yobbishly.”

‘Yob’ is a slang term in British dialect for “a rude, noisy, and aggressive young person,” according to the online Oxford Languages dictionary. 

Gary Mond  Chairman of the UK's National Jewish Assembly, told the Jerusalem Post "This is yet another example of the growth in Jew hatred in Britain, and especially in areas where large numbers of Jews reside. While there is certainly some evidence, as Rabbi Gluck says, of the perpetrators being 'yobs' who will target any minority, the massive spike in attacks on Jews, compared to non-Jews, demonstrates that there is really a huge problem facing Britain's Jewish community and vigorous enforcement of the law is needed."

Antisemitism in the United Kingdom

Antisemitism in the United Kingdom has increased well beyond the global average of 235%, according to an annual report published in January of 2024 by the Diaspora Ministry, the World Zionist Organization, and the Jewish Agency.  Since October 7, when Hamas killed over 1200 people in terror attacks in southern Israel, antisemitism increased in Britain by 1350%. 

A survey by Campaign Against Antisemitism, published in November, found that almost half of British Jews have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism since October 7 and a further 60% of British Jews have either personally experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since October 7, or know somebody who has.