Jewish Londoners have responded in both defiance and fear amid a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the capital following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Scotland Yard on Friday said London has seen a “massive increase” in antisemitic incidents since the conflict began last weekend, from the playing of German military music to intimidation outside synagogues.
Jewish author Dov Forman said on X, formerly Twitter, that on Friday “for the first time” he had considered not wearing his skullcap in public.
“For the first time in my life, I hesitated before going out in London wearing my Kippah today,” he said.
But he continued: “To those aiming to instill fear in Jewish communities and hinder our pride in education, hear this: our grandparents survived the Holocaust; we won’t be intimidated.”
His defiant post came as some north London Jewish schools closed their doors on Friday over safety concerns following calls for pro-Palestine protests to be held, while the Met has ramped up police patrols at schools and synagogues.
For the first time in my life, I hesitated before going out in London wearing my Kippah today.
— Dov Forman (@DovForman) October 13, 2023
To those aiming to instill fear in Jewish communities and hinder our pride in education, hear this: our grandparents survived the Holocaust; we won't be intimidated
“I refuse to be frightened out of expressing my Jewish identity on London’s streets,” wrote Mr Forman, whose best-selling 2021 book Lily’s Promise tells the story of how his great-grandmother Lily Ebert, a 99-year-old who now lives in London, survived the Holocaust including time spent captive in the Auschwitz death camp.
“The Jewish people won’t succumb to terrorism.
“We will go to university. We will go to synagogue. We will go to our Jewish schools. We will wear our Jewish symbols with pride.”
His post was met with widespread support, and messages urging him to stay safe.
“We stand with you,” replied barrister Francis Hoar, while X user Mark Nagle wrote: “Well said Dov and doing likewise #NeverSurrender”.
One mother, Dr Christina Mobley, told how she had considered asking her son to remove his kippah before going to school.
“But I didn’t have the heart,” she wrote. “He’s only 5. If he isn’t afraid to be visibly Jewish in the UK… I’d like to protect that for as long as I can.”
But fears remain for many over the increased antisemitism.
Jewish students at some schools in London were being allowed by schools to disguise their uniform because of a fear of retaliatory attacks caused by the ongoing war in Israel.
In a letter to The Times on Wednesday, Golders Green resident Dr Sarah Nachshen wrote: “On advice from her school our teenage daughter has gone off without her blazer this morning. Her male classmates have been advised to cover their skullcaps with baseball caps.
“On her pre-school dawn run yesterday she ran past the broken glass of a kosher café’s windows and a fresh anti-Israel slogan painted on a bridge.”
The Met Police said on Friday there had been 105 antisemitic incidents and 75 antisemitic offences in the capital since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Saturday, compared with 14 incidents and 12 offences in the same period last year.
It marks a 650 per cent rise in “incidents” and a 525 per cent increase in crimes.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor told a press briefing on Friday: “That is a massive increase in antisemitic crime and incidents.
“In balance, we have seen an increase in Islamophobic incidents, but nothing like the scale of the increase in antisemitism.
“The context is really challenging for us, we are seeing behaviours that are provocative, that are inciteful, we’ll address those whilst recognising the emotion and the activities and the incidents that are taking place overseas.”
Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST) said incidents in London have included graffiti depicting Adolf Hitler giving a Nazi salute, the word “Jews” painted on a wall in the City of London, and an orthodox man being punched on a bus before his skullcap was taken.
Rishi Sunak has slammed the rise in antisemitic incidents as “disgusting” and vowed it “will not be tolerated”.
Meanwhile the Met has 1,000 officers dedicated to “reassurance and security patrols” in the wake of “significant concern” among Londoners which the force anticipates will continue for a “fairly long period of time”.
It also planned to have visited every synagogue in the city by the end of Friday, and has met 2,000 parents as well as pupils and schools’ leaders, amid worries about the safety of young people.
On Friday, four Jewish schools in London have decided to shut their doors amid calls for mass demonstrations in support of Palestinians.
Torah Vodaas and Ateres Beis primary schools in Edgware and Colindale and Menorah High for Girls in Neasden informed parents they would not reopen until Monday “in the interests of the safety of our precious children”.
In a letter to parents, Rabbi Feldman, of Torah Vodaas, said while there was “no specific threat to our school” it was “not a decision that has been taken lightly”.
The schools are worried about Friday because, on Tuesday, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for the Muslim world to show their solidarity with Palestinians.
In a recorded statement issued to Reuters, he said: “We must head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday.”
More than 1,000 Met officers will be in place to police a pro-Palestinian protest over the weekend, which thousands of people are expected to attend.
