Purim arrests in Golders Green spark community backlash
Five males, aged between 14 and 18, were arrested for offences including failure to comply with the dispersal order, assaulting an emergency worker and public order offences.
Five boys were arrested in Golders Green during Purim celebrations.
According to the Metropolitan Police, officers were deployed following consultations with Jewish community representatives, with a plan in place to manage large crowds. While most people celebrated peacefully, police said a small group engaged in antisocial behaviour.
“Officers intervened in a number of disturbances, including fights. Flares were lit and put in the road, causing potential danger to road users and pedestrians. These were also thrown towards officers,” a police spokesperson said.
A Section 35 dispersal order was issued, and warnings were given for people to leave. Police said community members also tried to intervene.
Five males, aged between 14 and 18, were arrested for offences including failure to comply with the dispersal order, assaulting an emergency worker, and public order offences. They have been bailed pending further enquiries.
Members of the local charedi community claimed CST representatives were seen speaking to police officers before the arrests. A local rabbi claimed the situation escalated after CST directed the police to arrest one boy. “If parents or teachers had been called instead, this could have been avoided,” he said.
The rabbi also questioned the decision to shut down festival floats and stop music, despite police having initially approved the events.
But CST denied any involvement in the arrests. “CST was not in any way responsible for the arrests of five Jewish teenagers in Golders Green on Purim, and any suggestion of CST involvement in those arrests is totally false and wrong,” a spokesperson said.
“A local CST representative attended the scene after the trouble that led to the arrests had already started. He tried to calm tempers, and in doing so, he may well have prevented further arrests from occurring.”
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.
