Man arrested over antisemitic hate crime on London bus
The victim, aged 36, was reading a prayer book while travelling on the 254 towards Aldgate on December 6 when another man boarded near Stamford Hill, Hackney.
A man has been arrested by police investigating a hate crime attack in which a bus passenger was targeted with antisemitic abuse.
The victim, aged 36, was reading a prayer book while travelling on the 254 towards Aldgate on December 6 when another man boarded near Stamford Hill, Hackney.
The suspect made a number of antisemitic comments at the victim before also verbally abusing a group of teenage girls on the bus, according to police.
When the first victim tried to intervene, he was punched in the arm.
Police were called and the victim got off in the Stamford Lodge area but the suspect could not be located.
After analysis of CCTV footage, a 48-year-old man was identified and arrested on Friday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Detective Superintendent Adam Ghaboos, from the Metropolitan Police Central East Basic Command Unit, said: “We have a large Jewish community in Hackney who have the right to live peacefully without being victimised because of their faith.
“My officers will thoroughly investigate all hate crimes that are reported to us and I would strongly urge anyone who has been the victim of hate crime, be it physical or verbal, to report it to police as soon as possible.”
It comes after another attack in Stamford Hill on November 29 in which a rabbi was thrown to the ground by two men shouting “kill the Jews”.
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