Police from the United Kingdom are investigating the assault and robbery of a 20-year-old Jewish woman at the hands of two teenage girls as a potential hate crime.
The development comes after viral video footage of the attack was circulated online by a neighborhood watch group. A Jewish security group, Shomrim, released the video of the incident on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Attack on Jewish Woman
The footage showed a woman being pulled to the ground and beaten before bystanders finally intervened to check on her condition. In a statement, the group said that the brutal attack involved two suspects who kept on kicking the unconscious victim in the head before laughing over her body and joyfully singing that she was dead.
The offenders then left the victim collapsed and unresponsive for a few minutes on the ground in a puddle. A report from the Evening Standard noted that police were able to confirm that the victim was Jewish and was left bruised and unconscious but did not need to be transported to the hospital, as per Fox News.
Detective Inspector Mike Herrick of the Metropolitan Police issued a statement saying that it was a shocking incident and a terrifying experience for the Jewish woman. He added that the victim was lucky enough not to receive more serious injuries from the attack. He said that they do not underestimate the psychological impact of such offenses.
Later, law enforcement authorities confirmed the authenticity of the video that was posted by Shomrim and said that an investigation had been launched into the incident. The attack allegedly took place north of London last week.
#RostrevorAttack - New video of attack (zoomed in)@Shomrim clarify that cctv & witness statements show this was a brutal #Antisemitic attack & not a robbery
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) December 9, 2023
Female Jewish victim was beaten unconscious, the attackers didn't stop kicking her head even after she lost… pic.twitter.com/wEoZXcmUQX
The investigation into the attack will be led by DS Asli Benson of the Metropolitan Police, who said that it would be treated as a possible hate crime. However, he said that all possibilities will be explored.
Potential Hate Crime
Benson noted that they would also be continuing to provide support for the victim due to the effects it could have on her mental well-being. He said that the current situation shows that fears and uncertainty are spread across the wider Jewish community, according to The Guardian.
Shortly after the attack, police conducted extensive inquiries to identify the suspects and used CCTV images to establish that the perpetrators were wearing school uniforms. Detectives then worked with schools in Haringey and neighboring boroughs to identify the attackers.
Officers arrested two girls, aged 13 and 14, on Dec. 10 on suspicion of robbery and are still in official custody. The incident comes as the Stamford Hill neighborhood has the largest concentration of Hassidic Jews in Europe.
The Met reported last month that hate crimes against Jewish people skyrocketed by 1,350% since the Hamas militant group's attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Antisemitism attacks since then have risen in various countries and regions, including the UK.
The initial attack involved roughly 3,000 terrorists marching across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air, and sea. They initially killed roughly 1,200 people and took about 240 people hostage, said the Times of Israel.
