A Jewish London father whose birthplace of Israel was scribbled out on his baby’s birth certificate when it was returned by the Passport Office says he plans to sue those responsible.
It comes as the Home Secretary apologised to the family, and revealed staff an unnamed private company which works with the Home Office have been suspended.
The father-of-three, who is named Israel, and his wife Dorin, 29, had sent their five-month-old daughter Ronnie’s birth certificate off as part of a passport application.
But they were shocked when the document was returned torn and defaced on Monday, and said the incident made them feel “as if we had been taken back to 1930’s Germany”.
Israel, a 32-year-old engineer who did not wish to give his surname, has now praised the Government’s swift action in investigating the incident, but said the fact multiple people have been suspended “raises concerns”.
“I hope whoever this public servant is is banned,” he told MailOnline.
“I would like to sue them personally for the damage they have carried out to my daughter's birth certificate, my property.
“The Government absolutely needs to make sure when they get people working in their system they should be vetted and everything should be checked to ensure they are not part of a hate gang or any sort of hateful organisation.”
Israel previously recounted how he and his wife “felt as if we had been taken back to 1930’s Germany where the Nazis would put notes on Jewish people’s documentation” after Dorin found the birth certificate “ripped half way through and my place of birth - which was Israel - had been scribbled out with a pen”.
“It is completely warped and it hurts my heart that my daughter is not even six months old and she has already been discriminated on in the worst way,” he told MailOnline.
“We are terrified because if this is the environment within the Home Office, this is not a place we want to live. We are just as British as everyone else.”
Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, he said being Jewish in the UK amid rising antisemitism is “very hard” and “London is not London anymore”.
"The situation here is not good,” he said. “To be Jewish in the UK is very hard. And it's not getting better, it's getting worse and worse. I think my daughter, in 20 years, that's her future, because London is not London anymore, and I literally feel unsafe."
We apologise to the family for the offence caused and I have ordered an urgent review of a birth certificate being defaced.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) February 21, 2024
While we establish the facts, our commercial partner has suspended some staff.
The matter is totally unacceptable.
We will not tolerate antisemitism. https://t.co/gZptvDLpJE
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has described the incident as “completely unacceptable”.
It posted an image of the document on X, saying: “Two weeks ago, a member of the public sent off a passport application to @ukhomeoffice for his baby girl.
“The birth certificate was returned ripped with the word ‘Israel’ scribbled out. The parents are understandably very concerned about this incident.
“We are asking the Home Office to investigate how this happened. The Home Office has responsibility for law enforcement and the security of the Jewish community.”
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has confirmed the Home Office is investigating the matter.
It comes as campaigners says there has been “explosion in hatred” in the wake of Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7
The Community Security Trust (CST) charity recorded an all-time high of 4,103 incidents of antisemitism, up from 1,662 in 2022. It included 266 violent assaults on Jews, up 96 per cent year-on-year and the highest figure since the CST started gathering data 40 years ago.
For the first time, the CST logged at least one antisemitic incident for every police force in the UK, with the majority - more than 2,400 - in London, including some at vigils for Israelis taken hostage.
