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.”
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