Notorious anti-Israel activist reported to police for allegedly punching woman’s phone
According to the victim, police came to her a few minutes later, giving her first aid as her knee was bleeding but didn't address the incident that led to it
A notorious anti-Israel activist has been reported to the police after he was allegedly filmed punching a woman’s phone from her hand, causing her to fall to the ground and injure herself.
The victim, a woman named “Aimee,” told Jewish News she was walking through Trafalgar Square as Palestinian protesters began marching through the area.
“I decided to stand on the side of the road and livestream from my phone. There were many riot police standing behind me. I spent about 45 minutes live-streaming the demonstration and I was questioning the protesters as to why they don’t ever call for Hamas to surrender. I was trying to find some people to debate this topic with in a civilised way,” Aimee said.
“At a certain point a lady kept pushing her banner right in my face and I kept moving away but she kept shoving it in my face. A man later identified as Tony Greenstein then called me ‘You bloody evangelical Christian’.
“When I finally moved the banner away and said ‘Excuse me, please stop putting this in my face’, he slapped the phone from my hand and I ended up on the ground, landing on some glass. I was bleeding for a few hours. The man also damaged my phone. The police didn’t react attend at all despite them being there,” she added.
Aimee continued: “He should be sent to prison as he is a danger to the public. There is absolutely no excuse to use violence to silence freedom of speech. He could have chosen to either walk on and ignore me or maybe even ask the police who were right there to move me on.”
Aimee reported the incident as a hate crime, assault and damage to her phone. “I will be calling the police tomorrow to chase this and ask them to arrest this man since there is footage, witnesses and he has been identified,” she said.
Last September Greenstein escaped being sent to prison despite being found guilty of planning to damage a drone factory he believed was supplying arms to Israel.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
