Was it a hate crime spree? Two Jewish women attacked minutes before third was ‘beaten unconscious’

Metro.co.uk can exclusively report that two other ‘visibly Jewish females’ were targeted just before an Orthodox woman was brutally attacked on Thursday.

Two Jewish women were targeted by muggers minutes before a young Orthodox woman was ‘beaten unconscious’ in a suspected hate crime, Metro can exclusively report. 

Sickening footage shows the 20-year-old victim being knocked to the ground and kicked while lying defenceless on Rostrevor Avenue in Haringey, north London, last Thursday.

Orthodox neighbourhood watch group Shomrim said following the attack, young children passing on their way home from school told parents: ‘Look, there’s a dead person on the floor.’

The volunteer organisation has now exclusively revealed to Metro.co.uk that two other ‘visibly Jewish females’ were targeted by suspects with the same description in nearby streets within half an hour of that assault.

One attack involved an adult victim who managed to escape without physical injury after being approached in St Ann’s Road, while the other saw a young girl robbed of her schoolbag in Norfolk Road. 

A spokesman for Shomrim told Metro: ‘All three incidents happened between 4pm and 4.30pm.

‘Just before the incident when this woman was attacked, they assaulted, harassed, bullied another two Jewish people. 

‘That’s why we say it is clear this is a hate crime, because within half an hour they have only targeted three visibly Jewish females.’ 

Scotland Yard has confirmed the investigation into the initially reported attack now includes all three incidents.

A police spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that the investigation includes three offences on Thursday, December 7.

‘On Sunday, December 10, officers arrested two girls aged 13 and 14 in Haringey on suspicion of robbery. Both are released under investigation. Enquiries are ongoing.’

The Shomrim representative also revealed his wife was one of the passers-by who helped the 20-year-old victim after the assault.

‘She was on the other side of the road and didn’t even realise what had happened,’ he said. 

‘Our kids told her “Look, there’s a dead person on the floor”. She was motionless. It was very scary.’ 

The woman, who lived nearby, was helped into a neighbour’s house and despite feeling ‘very shocked’, said she just wanted to get home having escaped serious injury.

The Shomrim spokesman went on to explain why members of the Orthodox community are more vulnerable than anyone else.

He said: ‘Most people [in the Orthodox community] don’t know how to defend themselves, they don’t have television or internet at home, so they are oblivious to the outside world really.’

Antisemitic hate crimes have soared in the wake of the conflict that erupted when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

Shomrim has recorded nearly 100 incidents since that date, most of which have been verbal or involved offensive slogans either shouted or emblazoned on placards. 

They also involve claims that Jewish people, including children, have been prevented from getting on London buses.

In one incident, The Independent reported that a group of Jewish schoolboys were ignored at a stop in Stamford Hill on November 26, with a similar instance occurring in Hackney three days later.

Shomrim confirmed two further bus stop refusals have been reported this week, with the spokesman adding: ‘One of them is a six months pregnant woman.  

‘It was raining outside and she was knocking at the door but the driver just shook his head and said “no, you’re not coming on” and drove off.’ 

Transport for London (TfL) has said it takes the reports ‘extremely seriously’, adding: ‘We do not tolerate any form of discrimination on our network.’ 

Despite the total number of hate crime reports slowly falling over the past month, the proportion involving physical attacks has started to creep up.

‘Until now it was verbal, but it’s starting to become physical and that’s what is more worrying,’ the spokesman said. 

‘It’s getting a bit out of hand. We have to make sure that goes down and nobody else gets hurt.’ 

Commander Paul Trevers said last month: ‘This is a challenging time for communities in London. 

‘We continue to see a very concerning rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime. This is absolutely unacceptable. 

‘No one should be subjected to hate because of their faith or race, and we are taking action against those who are offending. 

‘In some cases, our officers have taken accounts of extremely shocking and hateful abuse as well as acts of violence. 

‘We are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to build strong cases against those who offend. 

‘We continue to work extremely closely with our faith communities and we know the impact on them is not diminishing.’ 

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