Jewish dad wants to meet Muslim woman who stood up for him on Tube

A Jewish man who suffered anti-Semitic abuse along with his family on the London Underground, wants to meet the Muslim woman who stepped in to defend them.

The victim, who does not wish to be named, says he is ‘extremely grateful’ to the Muslim woman, and is ‘certain that without her intervention’, the abuse would have ‘escalated to physical violence’.

On the morning of Friday 22 November, the man and his family were subjected to a torrent of anti-Semitic comments by a man on the tube as the family were travelling from Hendon Central to Covent Gardens.

The shocking moment was captured on camera by Chris Atkins, with the man directing abuse at the father and his two young sons.

He asks the man and his family if they are Jews, before shouting that the ‘Jews started the slave trade’ and threatening the man by telling him the he and his wife and children were going to be his slaves.

A witness also said the man had blamed Jews for enslaving blacks and said they were responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks.

According to a statement given to the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the victim says he wants to meet the Muslim lady to whom he and his family are ‘extremely grateful to’ for stepping in.

The woman has since been identified as mother-of-two Asma Shuweikh.

A man with a baseball cap bravely also tried to intervene and he himself was subject to threats of violence.

The Jewish victim said: ‘We are certain that without her intervention and distraction, he would have continued his abuse which could have escalated to physical violence. I would like to meet Asma in person to thank her.’

He also said that the video which has been circulated on social media only shows a short clip of a ‘fifteen- to twenty-minute ordeal.’

The man said that all he could think about was the safety of his family and the incident had left him with ‘mixed feelings’ about society.

He added: ‘On the one hand my wife, my children and I were subject to vile abuse in a full Tube carriage, however I am grateful for those who stood up for me.’

He also said that antisemitism is still rife, ‘it just happens that a small two minute snippet of this long episode was caught on camera’.

Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, Stephen Silverman said: ‘Unbridled anti-Semitic hatred such as this has no place in our society, and the perpetrator should now feel the full force of the law.

‘Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Asma Shuweikh and the unseen gentleman whose brave interventions serve as a timely reminder that British values of tolerance and respect are still alive and well.

‘We also applaud the Police for making a swift arrest following the vital circulation of the video of the incident by commuter Chris Atkins.

‘We have provided support to the victim, who has expressed the desire to meet Ms Shuweikh so that he can thank her in person.’

A Spokesperson for Shomrim North West London, a Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol group, who have been supporting the victim said: ‘It is incidents like these which bring the issue of antisemitism into sharp focus.

‘Shomrim are committed to supporting victims of racial hate crimes and antisemitic abuse.

‘We urge any victims to come forward and we will support you in reporting these incidents to police, and provide you with the necessary support.’