Mezuzah
MezuzahiStock

Several mezuzot on the doors of Jewish homes in Borehamwood, UK were vandalized on Monday, with one mezuzah stomped on.

Police are investigating the incidents as “racially motivated crimes.”

One resident of the suburb to the north of London reported that their mezuzah and its scroll were destroyed and a mezuzah on a property next door was reported missing, according to the Jewish News.

Suzie Wilson, whose mezuzah was stolen, described feeling “sad and sickened.”

Wilson, a mother of three children, also felt "a little frightened because obviously as a mum you're a protector of your kids and you want to be safe in your home."

She told the Jewish Chronicle that she would eventually replace the mezuzah but did not think she would do so immediately, out of concern for the safety of her children.

"I am proud to be Jewish and if I don't put the mezuzah back in my door then in my eyes I'm giving in to some people's small mindedness and wanting us not to be here," she said.

Martine Stone told the Jewish News that she felt “physically sick” after finding that her mezuzah had been destroyed.

“At about 5 p.m. yesterday, I picked up a package from Amazon and then saw something on the ground. I realized it was my mezuzah, lying on the floor broken. The top had been opened and the parchment had been taken out, scrunched up and then trodden into the mud,” she said. “It had been deliberately sabotaged. That’s what really upset me, the maliciousness of the act.”

Stone noted that she is one of only two Jewish families living in their section of the street. She described the area as a “beautiful, multicultural neighbourhood” and said that the incident had given her “such a shock.”

“We’ve had that mezuzah for years. My son is now 18 and we’ve had it all his life, so it’s very special to us. I can’t get that image out of my head of seeing it scrunched up and trodden into the ground. In all my life I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

She added, “It’s had a terrible effect. My son and I couldn’t sleep last night and I’ve been throwing up. I think I went into shock.”

Both victims stated that local police had been extremely helpful. Police have increased patrols in the area, which has one of the fastest growing Jewish populations in the UK.