A ruling by a London court has the local Jewish community up in arms, after a couple involved in an anti-Semitic attack this summer was freed and forced to pay only a small fine, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
The couple – both natives of Poland now living in London – pleaded guilty to three counts of racially aggravated assault at the Thames Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
The charges stemmed from an attack on guests at a wedding in London in July.
During the incident, which took place outside of the Kehal Yetev Lev Synagogue, the Winiarskis attacked two guests and a driver while hurling anti-Semitic epithets.
According to prosecutors, Kasimiersz Winiarski shoved David Tangy, a driver for several of the wedding guests.
“The complainants were waiting in the car park at the venue as they were doing the transfer for guests for a Jewish wedding ceremony,” said prosecutor Demi Ugurtay.
“The two defendants came along, it's stated that Mr. Winiarski slammed the door on one of the Jewish driver's car, and then pushed him.”
Ineta Winiarski, who was walking the couple’s dog, then approached Ben Herbst, one of the guests, and whipped him with the dog’s leash while screaming “F***ing Jew”.
Ineta then assaulted Ben Herbst’s father, Israel Herbst, striking him while continuing to verbally abuse those present, yelling vulgarities in Polish and calling for Jews to be expelled from Britain.
“Dog stay here England, you Jews go away,” Ineta said.
Despite the severity of the charges, the court let the couple walk free, handing down a 12-week suspended sentence for each count of assault.
The couple – 62-year-old Kasimiersz Winiarski and 33-year-old Ineta Winiarski – were required to pay just 435 pounds ($581) in fines and compensation to the victims, including 40 pounds ($53) to each of the three victims.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, a UK-based human rights group, slammed the court’s decision, saying it will “embolden” anti-Semites and encourage attacks on Jews.
“We are deeply dismayed by this sentence,” said Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.
“Anti-Semitic crime has soared by 45 percent in the past two years and securing prosecutions is rare enough. For a court to hand down such a derisively lenient sentence, effectively allowing vicious anti-Semitic assailants to walk free, paying approximately one-third the cost of a parking fine to the Jewish people that they punched and whipped in broad daylight, is an affront.
“This paltry sentence will not deter anti-Semites; it will embolden them. Our criminal justice system is continuing to send a strong message that anti-Semites will rarely be charged, rarely be prosecuted, and rarely be properly punished. It is surely because of verdicts like this one that our research shows that a mere 21 percent of British Jews think that the authorities are doing enough to address and punish anti-Semitism. We hope that the Crown Prosecution Service will now appeal this outrageous verdict.”