Anti-Semitism has begun to rear its ugly head in northwest London’s Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green.
Jewish students are increasingly being targeted by rock-throwing hate-mongers, according to a report published in The Jewish News. Concerned parents have organized a private bus to transport their children in order to keep them safe from the daily attacks on their way to school.
At the Hendon Park Café, vandals scrawled “dirty Jews” and a swastika on the walls of the eatery. A sketch of a gun and the word “kill” was scrawled alongside it as well.
The unsightly vandalism stunned the upscale neighborhood, including the outraged café owner, Jason Ezekiel, who told The Jewish News, “I was shocked when I saw it… I feel I’ve done something nice for the community. I feel, why target me? They did it at night in an area where they wouldn’t be seen. It was a cowardly act.
“I’ve lived in Golders Green all my life and this is the first I’ve seen of anything like this,” Ezekiel added. “Even the police officer I was speaking with said he hasn’t seen this kind of vandalism in many years.”
As in Israel, however, the incident was not allowed to disrupt business, nor did it remain visible for very long. Ezekiel said the graffiti was painted over by mid-afternoon, as soon as police had come and photographed the evidence, saying, “we didn’t want to encourage the people who did this; we didn’t want them to feel powerful.”
Local authorities strongly condemned the “disgusting incident of racist graffiti” in a statement issued by Barnet Police spokesman DI Alison Turner that appealed to the public to come forth with any information about the perpetrators.