London Jew violently struck, assaulted, and stripped of his yarmulke

This attack headlines a series of recent antisemitic assaults in North Stamford Hill, London.

  (photo credit: Stop Hate UK)
(photo credit: Stop Hate UK)

A London Jewish male was ambushed by a male on a bicycle, who punched him and knocked off his yarmulke, on October 28. Several other incidents involving a man on a bike targeting visible Jews followed later that same day, according to reports from the Stamford Hill Shomrim chapter.

“I tried but didn’t manage,” the assailant lamented after failing in his attempt to knock a second Jewish victim’s yarmulke off. While this victim was left unscathed, others were not. Another unnamed victim was similarly ambushed by a man on a bike, who successfully knocked his yarmulke off and punched him in the face, leaving him bleeding and bruised.

Related Stamford Hill Attacks

Over the next week, the Shomrim reported a series of other antisemitic incidents that did not only target Jewish males, like the bicycle assaults, but even children and mothers with babies. 

"I don't know why Jews were saved from the war. I hate Jews."

“I don’t know why Jews were saved from the war,” a racist female said to a Jewish mother and her baby on a public bus. “I hate Jews.”

In the words of the Shomrim, "the racism pandemic [continued]” that day when a multi-time violent hate-crime offender yelled, “You Jews — you think you own the world,” at a Jewish man, shortly before striking a Jewish witness in the chest. 

“You Jews — you think you own the world."

The Shomrim called for an SOS after detailing another London antisemitic attack, in which an unidentified vehicle threw a firework at a Jewish male, evidently targeting him out of a group of surrounding non-Jewish pedestrians.

Combatting Antisemitism in Stamford

Not all of the recent assailants have gotten away free of consequence. As of yesterday, a man named Abdullah Qureshi, who is responsible for a spate of August 18 Stamford Hill antisemitic assaults, was convicted of hate crimes. His sentence is to be decided at Snaresbrook Crown Court on December 8. 

“London is an incredible and diverse city and it is completely unacceptable for certain sections of our communities to be subjected to deplorable abuse and harassment,” said Hackney Police Detective Chief Inspector Yasmin Lalani in response to Qureshi’s arrest. 

"It is completely unacceptable for certain sections of our communities to be subjected to deplorable abuse and harassment."

Detective Lalani

In 2021, UK Jews recorded 2,255 antisemitic incidents, the most ever recorded by the Community Security Trust, a British charity tasked with protecting the country’s Jewish community. An average of more than three hate crimes are directed at Jews per day in England and Wales, with Jews over four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group, according to Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of United Kingdom’s Home Office statistics.             

"Our message is clear — we will not tolerate hate crime."

Detective Lalani

“Our message is clear — we will not tolerate hate crime,” Detective Lalani continued. “Do not come to Stamford Hill to commit offences against our community — we will hold you to account.”