A Jewish father-of-three who was told by a tube passenger ‘your religion is killing Muslims’ has said he feels unable to walk through central London wearing his skullcap due to the ‘hate marches’.
The father, who wants to remain anonymous for his family’s safety, has spoken about his fears of rising anti-Semitism after he was allegedly abused by a vape-puffing passenger on the London Underground on Thursday.
The shocking incident was captured on video and involved a man who said he was a Muslim pointing at the Jewish man’s skullcap and saying his religion kills Muslims.
British Transport Police have confirmed they are investigating.
Speaking to MailOnline, he said the alleged abuse was an example of how things have ‘absolutely got worse’ since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7.
A Jewish father-of-three, who wants to remain anonymous for his family’s safety, has said he feels unable to walk through central London wearing his skullcap due to the ‘hate marches’
The shocking footage showed a passenger appearing to goad the Jewish man by blowing smoke from his red vape towards him and telling him ‘your religion is killing Muslims’ after noticing the skullcap
‘I call them hate marches, weekly hate marches on streets of London which are not being policed effectively’ he said.
‘You embolden the extremists who believe they can act with impunity and do what they want in the streets of London. And that’s why we’re seeing a proliferation of the situation we’re seeing with the rise in anti-Semitism.’
The Jewish father has worn a skullcap or Kippah at all times as part of his faith for decades but said he now sometimes worries about the attention it can draw.
He said he hopes his 12-year-old son, who goes to a Jewish school, would feel safe wearing it in London but said that is ‘unfortunately becoming less and less the case’.
‘I think there are situations where I would either wear a cap or take my Kippah off in certain areas of London especially if I was by myself’ he said.
‘I think it has come to that unfortunately.
‘I’ll tell you one thing, there’s no way in a million years I would walk through central London on a Saturday with these hate marches going on wearing my skullcap. You just you know what’s gonna happen.
The pair had an argument with the vaping man confirming he is a Muslim in the exchange
During a protest two men were pictured wearing alleged Hamas-style headbands on their balaclava and scarf-covered faces
One placard on display during a protest showed a snake in the colours of the Israeli flag, encircling the world, which allegedly is a direct link to Nazi Germany
One sign seen at the rally accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being the ‘mastermind’ behind ‘all evils’
‘I would absolutely agree that the police need to do more. I think they have powers to deal with this. Unfortunately, they’re not using them.
‘I think they’re scared of the mob rule and you can see that. How can a call for genocide be projected onto the Elizabeth Tower outside the House of Parliament when a vote is going on and MPs are intimidated to act and be able to carry out their jobs?
‘It’s absolutely disgusting that extremists are taking control of the democratic process.
‘I haven’t heard all of Rishi’s speech but I’ve seen the highlights in the paper, but the divisions in society are compounded by social media.’
The Jewish father lives in northwest London and is the director of a consultancy firm.
He thinks the rise in anti-Semitism is party due to what he refers to as ‘TikTok-educated idiots’.
‘The polarisation of material that is force fed down people’s throats and then we end up in these situations where people don’t have tolerance to each other’ he said.
He added: ‘People unfortunately don’t have contact, people don’t understand. They are thrown propaganda material down their throats, and they form opinions and get polarised, and therefore they feel that they are doing the right thing, a misguided thing by acting in certain ways.
‘They don’t realise that what they’re doing is breaking the law. And the law needs to be enforced.’
The words ‘From the river to the sea’ were beamed on to the Elizabeth Tower during a Commons debate last week in which MPs warned threats from ‘Islamist extremists’ were stifling democracy
Thee device was repeatedly beam the phrases ‘ceasefire now’, ‘stop bombing Gaza’, ‘end the war now’, and ‘stop war’
‘There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart. We must not allow that to happen,’ the Prime Minister said in an address at Downing Street on March 1, 2024
The Jewish father said it was not the first time he has experienced anti-Semitism since October 7.
In the weeks after the Hamas terror attack while walking back from Synagogue on a Friday night with his son, a car pulled up nearby and rolled down its window and shouted ‘f***ing Jews get off the road!’
But following the tube incident, he worries the next time someone faces anti-Semitism in public they might not have the confidence to challenge it like he did.
He said: ‘From my point of view I can look after myself. I can handle myself as you as you heard on the video. I’m not gonna get flustered by these TikTok-educated idiots.
‘I’ll defend my position and my religion as you could hear, but you know, God forbid there was a little old elderly gentleman, who was more intimidated or more scared, or young girl who’s wearing a Star of David.
‘Why do these people feel emboldened and feel that they can react this way with impunity in London in this day and age? It’s shocking that’s what I feel.
‘I believe it’s not just you know myself with Judaism. I believe that anyone should be able to wear any religious symbol.
‘This was a multicultural society, we’re a tolerant society, and if there was a Kippah or a hijab or a turban whatever their religious identity is they should be able to wear it in public without fear of abuse or attack or or discrimination.
‘And unfortunately, that’s something that’s fundamental to British values. And that is being eroded at this time.’
A poster of Kfir Bibas, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, is daubed with swastikas
People attend a Campaign Against Antisemitism rally outside New Scotland Yard in central London, seeking police action amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents
A total of 679 anti-Semitic offences were recorded by the Met Police from October 7 to November 7 2023, compared with 50 in the equivalent period the previous year and 81 in 2021
The Community Security Trust, a charity, recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism, up from 1,662 in 2022 (File Photo)
But the Jewish father did praise British Transport Police for their work in trying to catch the vape-smoking alleged abuser on the tube, but despite stopping the train he had managed to cross the platform and escape.
He said: ‘I’m hoping the transport police got to follow him on the CCTV. And maybe he scanned out with the oyster or credit cards, and they can trace him.
‘The British Transport Police were very good they called me, and they’ve offered support, and they’re very proactive in trying to take this forward.’
The incident of alleged anti-Semitic abuse happened on a Northern Line journey between Chalk Farm and Belsize Park in the north of the city on Thursday.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism shared the footage but decided to blur the face of the passenger due to him possibly being under 18.
The tube incident comes after a report published two weeks ago showed the number of anti-Semitic incidents jumped 147 per cent last year to record levels, with a massive surge in the wake of the Hamas atrocities on October 7.
The Community Security Trust, a charity, recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism, 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, it recorded at least one anti-Semitic incident for every police force in the UK, with the majority – more than 2,400 – in London, including some at vigils for Hamas’s Israeli hostages.
Home Secretary James Cleverly condemned the figures at the time as ‘utterly deplorable’. Ten of the violent incidents involved fake firearms and three involved knives. Victims were struck with metal bars or other objects in 13 cases, 53 were punched or kicked and 36 were spat upon.
Police forces across the country also noticed increasing rates of anti-Semitism since the October 7 attacks.
The Metropolitan Police recorded a total of 679 anti-Semitic offences from October 7 to November 7 2023, compared with 50 in the equivalent period in 2022 and 81 in 2021.
